System and method for generating and implementing a household customer database

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for generating and implementing a household customer database are disclosed. In one aspect, a method for processing items comprises receiving a first item to be delivered and identifying data corresponding to one or more of a source information and destination information of the first item. The method further comprises identifying secondary information of the first item, storing the source, destination, and secondary information in a database, creating associations between the source, destination, and secondary information, receiving a request to analyze information stored and associated in the database, determining whether the database comprises information necessary to perform the requested analysis, identifying if additional information is needed to perform the requested analysis, updating the secondary information associations to include the additional information if needed to perform the requested analysis, and analyzing the information stored and associated in the database based on the received analysis request or query.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.62/236,582, filed Oct. 2, 2015, and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/311,314, filed Mar. 21, 2016, both assigned to the assignee hereof.The disclosures of these prior applications are considered part of thisapplication, and are hereby incorporated by reference in theirentireties.

BACKGROUND

Field

This disclosure relates to systems and methods of receiving, processing,and coordinating delivery of an item or a plurality of items, whereinthe system and methods disclosed are configured to generate and analyzea database comprising information associated with the item or pluralityof items sent from and received by a particular address or entity.Particularly, the system and methods disclosed are configured togenerate the encrypted delivery point information for the item andprocess items comprising encrypted delivery point information (such asaddress information) so that a sending or shipping entity or user isable to have the item delivered to the recipient without the sending orshipping entity having actual knowledge of the delivery point associatedwith the recipient.

Description of the Related Art

The delivery of items by a distribution service, system, or networkinvolves processing and handling each of the items being delivered. Suchprocessing and handling provides opportunities to analyze the itemsbeing delivered for at least physical attributes, source information,and destination information, which may be used to provide personalizedservices or offers to customers of the distribution service. Systems andmethods configured to store and analyze or mine this information togenerate aggregate information for a set of customers or addresses topredict events associated with one or more customers or addresses aredesired.

Additionally, a sender sending an item generally must know the deliverypoint to which the item is destined. Without this information beingindicated on the item, the distribution system will be unable to deliverthe item to a recipient. However, in some situations, the sender may nothave access to the recipient's correct delivery point, and thus, may beunable to send an item to the recipient through the distribution system.Thus, systems and methods configured to generate and process theencrypted delivery point information are desired.

SUMMARY

Some aspects described herein include a method of dynamically routingitems comprising selecting, by a processor, a plurality items fordynamic routing based on a criteria; generating, by a processor, a runmanifest, the run manifest comprising an item identifier and adestination for each of the plurality of items; sending the run manifestto a routing module; generating, by a processor, one or more dynamicroutes for delivering the plurality of items according to thedestination for each of the plurality of items; and associating the itemidentifier of one or more of the plurality of items with one of the oneor more dynamic routes and storing the association in a memory.

An aspect comprises a method of providing recipient information, themethod comprising receiving a request for names and correspondingdelivery point information from a user, wherein the request includes atleast a quantity of names and delivery points being requested andquerying a database to identify the quantity of names and deliverypoints requested by the user. The method also comprises storing theidentified names and delivery points in a temporary file and selectingan encryption key based on one or more of: a global encryption key, auser specific encryption key, or the quantity of names and deliverypoints requested by the user. The method further comprises generatingencrypted delivery point information corresponding to each identifiedname and delivery point based on the selected encryption key and thestored delivery points in the temporary file and sending the names andcorresponding encrypted delivery point information to the user.

Another aspect comprises a method of distributing an item, the methodcomprising receiving the item for distribution via a distributionsystem, the item comprising delivery point information and determiningwhether the delivery point information comprises encrypted deliverypoint information. The method further comprises flagging the item asencrypted or non-encrypted based on the determination and generatingdecrypted delivery point information by decrypting the encrypteddelivery point information when the item is flagged as encrypted. Themethod also comprises parsing the decrypted delivery point informationto determine sorting and routing instructions and sending sorting androuting instructions to a sorting apparatus. The method also furthercomprises causing the sorting apparatus to route and sort the itemaccording to the determined sorting and routing instructions.

In one aspect, a method for processing items in a delivery stream to bedelivered may be disclosed. The method comprises receiving a first itemto be delivered and identifying data corresponding to one or more of asource information and destination information of the first item to bedelivered. The method further comprises identifying secondaryinformation of the first item to be delivered, storing the sourceinformation, destination information, and secondary information in adatabase, and creating associations between the source information,destination information, and secondary information in the database. Inmethod also comprises receiving a request to analyze information storedand associated in the database, determining whether the databasecomprises information necessary to perform the requested analysis,identifying if additional information is needed to perform the requestedanalysis, updating the associations to include the additionalinformation if needed to perform the requested analysis, and analyzingthe information stored and associated in the database based on thereceived analysis request or query.

Another aspect is a method for processing items to be delivered in adelivery stream. The method comprises receiving an item to be deliveredand identifying data indicative of at least one of a unique address andcontact information, the data comprising at least one of an e-mailaddress, a virtual address, a phone number, and a non-physical locationidentifying individual identifier of a recipient of the item. The methodfurther comprises searching a database of addresses, the database ofaddresses comprising one or more searchable lists of e-mail addresses,virtual addresses, phone numbers, and non-physical location individualidentifiers and one or more corresponding lists of physical addresses.Associating the identified data with a location specific physicaladdress from the database of addresses, and generating an address labelfor the item, the address label comprising the associated physicaladdress of the recipient of the item. The method also includes applyingthe address label to the item, sorting and distributing the item in thedelivery stream so as to facilitate delivery of the item to the physicaladdress of the address label, and delivering the item to the recipientat the physical address of the address label.

An additional aspect is a system for processing items in a deliverystream to be delivered. The apparatus comprises a memory, comprising adatabase, configured to create associations between information storedin the database, an interface configured to receive a request to analyzeinformation stored and associated in the database, and a processor. Theprocessor is configured to identify data corresponding to one or more ofsource information and destination information of a first item to bedelivered, identify secondary information of the first item to bedelivered, and store the source information, destination information,and secondary information in the database. The processor is furtherconfigured to create associations between the source information,destination information, and secondary information in the database,determine whether the database comprises information necessary toperform he requested analysis, identify if additional information isneeded to perform the requested analysis, and analyze the informationstored and associated in the database based on the received analysisrequest.

An additional aspect is an apparatus for providing delivery pointinformation, the apparatus comprising means for receiving a request fordelivery point information from a user, wherein the request includes arecipient name and at least one unique digital identifier and means forquerying a database for the recipient name and the at least one uniquedigital identifier to determine whether the database includes thedelivery point information for the recipient. The apparatus alsocomprises means for retrieving the delivery point information associatedwith the recipient name and the at least one unique digital identifierand means for generating encrypted delivery point information based onthe retrieved delivery point information and at least one encryptionalgorithm. The apparatus further comprises means for sending theencrypted delivery point information to the user.

Another aspect is an apparatus for providing recipient information, theapparatus comprising means for receiving a request for names andcorresponding delivery point information from a user, wherein therequest includes at least a quantity of names and delivery points beingrequested and means for querying a database to identify the quantity ofnames and delivery points requested by the user. The apparatus furthercomprises means for storing the identified names and delivery points ina temporary file and means for selecting an encryption key based on oneor more of: a global encryption key, a user specific encryption key, orthe quantity of names and delivery points requested by the user. Theapparatus also comprises means for generating encrypted delivery pointinformation corresponding to each identified name and delivery pointbased on the selected encryption key and the stored delivery points inthe temporary file and means for sending the names and correspondingencrypted delivery point information to the user.

An additional aspect is an apparatus for processing items in a deliverystream to be delivered. The apparatus comprises means for receiving afirst item to be delivered and means for identifying data correspondingto one or more of source information and destination information of thefirst item to be delivered. The apparatus further comprises means foridentifying secondary information of the first item to be delivered andmeans for storing the source information, destination information, andsecondary information in a database. The apparatus also comprises meansfor creating associations between the source information, destinationinformation, and secondary information in the database and means forreceiving a request to analyze information stored and associated in thedatabase. The apparatus also further comprises means for determiningwhether the database comprises information necessary to perform therequested analysis and means for identifying if additional informationis needed to perform the requested analysis. The apparatus further alsocomprises means for updating the associations to include the additionalinformation if needed to perform the requested analysis and means foranalyzing the information stored and associated in the database based onthe received analysis request or query.

One aspect of the invention described herein includes a method ofproviding delivery point information. The method comprises receiving arequest for delivery point information from a user, wherein the requestincludes a recipient name and at least one unique digital identifier andquerying a database for the recipient name and the at least one uniquedigital identifier to determine whether the database includes thedelivery point information for the recipient. The method also comprisesretrieving the delivery point information associated with the recipientname and the at least one unique digital identifier and generatingencrypted delivery point information based on the retrieved deliverypoint information and at least one encryption algorithm. The method alsocomprises sending the encrypted delivery point information to the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above-mentioned aspects, as well as other features, aspects, andadvantages of the present technology will now be described in connectionwith various implementations, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings. The illustrated implementations, however, are merely examplesand are not intended to be limiting. Throughout the drawings, similarsymbols typically identify similar components, unless context dictatesotherwise. Note that the relative dimensions of the following figuresmay not be drawn to scale.

FIG. 1A depicts a diagram of one embodiment of a distribution system ornetwork used to distribute items between shippers and recipients.

FIG. 1B depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of a system foracquisition and analysis of a household database.

FIG. 2 is a table indicating examples of information to be stored in thedatabase of the memory that is acquired through services offered.

FIG. 3 is a table indicating examples of the data mining and analysis asprovided by the information analysis module 130 of FIG. 1B given theservices of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart depicting an example of a method of storing andanalyzing data in the household database.

FIG. 4B depicts a flow chart of a first example of the sub-method 420for mining and analyzing the household database in a general manner.

FIG. 4C is a flow chart of another example of the sub-method 430 formining and analyzing the household database to predict future actionsand events.

FIG. 4D is a flow chart of another example of the sub-method 440 formining and analyzing the household database to perform statisticalanalysis.

FIG. 5 depicts a process flow chart for an example of a method for usingthe household database to distribute and deliver an item having anon-physical, unique identifier as the destination.

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of an encrypteddelivery point information system for acquisition, control, analysis,and distribution of recipient delivery point information that may beintegrated into the systems of FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 7 depicts a graphical flow chart of the distribution system of FIG.1A as integrated with the encrypted delivery point information system ofFIG. 6 to create an anonymized shipping system for use by a subscriber.

FIG. 8 is a representation of an embodiment of a computer readable codeand corresponding delivery information and recipient name that may beapplied to items, where the computer readable code and the deliveryinformation may be based on encrypted delivery point informationreceived by the subscriber of FIG. 7 from the encrypted delivery pointinformation system for distribution by the distribution system.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method for providing an encrypted deliverypoint to a user based on a user request.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a method for receiving, sorting, and routingan item comprising encrypted delivery point information to a recipient.

FIG. 11 is a process flow diagram of a method for requesting andproviding encrypted delivery point information for an item and ofprocessing and delivering the item to a recipient.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method for receiving a user request for adelivery point associated with a particular recipient given theparticular recipient's name and at least one unique digital identifierof the recipient and of providing anonymous delivery point informationto a user based on the user request.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part thereof. In the drawings,similar symbols typically identify similar components, unless contextdictates otherwise. Thus, in some embodiments, part numbers may be usedfor similar components in multiple figures, or part numbers may varydepending from figure to figure. The illustrative embodiments describedin the detailed description, drawings, and claims are not meant to belimiting. Other embodiments may be utilized, and other changes may bemade, without departing from the spirit or scope of the subject matterpresented here. It will be readily understood that the aspects of thepresent disclosure, as generally described herein, and illustrated inthe Figures, can be arranged, substituted, combined, and designed in awide variety of different configurations, all of which are explicitlycontemplated and made part of this disclosure.

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for receiving,processing, and coordinating delivery of an item or a plurality ofitems. The systems and methods disclosed herein are configured togenerate and analyze a database comprising information regarding theitem or plurality of items sent from and received by a particularspecific address or entity. This may include identifying physicalattributes of the item or plurality of items being delivered and storingthese attributes in a household database. In the household database,these physical attributes may be associated with one or more addressesor names from which the item or plurality of items were sent and/or towhich the item or plurality of items were or are being delivered.

The present disclosure further relates to systems and methods forgenerating and distributing encrypted and/or anonymized recipientinformation to shippers and receiving, processing, and coordinatingdelivery of an item or a plurality of items to which encrypted recipient(address) information or delivery point information (e.g., a mailingaddress, GPS coordinates, grid coordinate, or any other locationidentifier) has been applied. The systems and methods disclosed hereinare configured to generate the encrypted delivery point information fordistribution to the shippers based on a request received from theshippers. The systems and methods disclosed are further configured todistribute the encrypted delivery point information to the shippers. Thesystems and methods disclosed are also configured to receive anddistribute the item or items to which the encrypted delivery pointinformation is applied to the proper recipient destinations asdetermined by the recipient information.

Additionally, the household database may be used to store informationregarding how many items, such as packages and similar articles, weresent or received by an address or entity and associated dates for saidsending and receiving. For example, an address may receive four items ina span of three days, two of the items being packages and two of theitems being letter size. The system or method may identify the lettersize items as being cards based on identifying a card manufacturer logoon the envelope or based on the size of the letter size item. Thepackages may be identified by the system or method as being a gift basedon wrapping paper or other physical markings on the packages. Thisinformation may be entered into the household database and compared withinformation from a previous time period, such as a previous month or aprevious holiday period. If a pattern of receiving increased amounts ofitems around a small range of dates is discovered, then the system ormethod may identify the range of dates as being a life event, such as abirthday or an anniversary. This identified life event may be used toidentify potential services associated with the life event or the date.In order to accomplish efficient, practical, and usable analysis ofentries in the database, the systems or methods may require real-timeattribute identification and acquisition for each item in thedistribution network, as well as immediate and real-time entry ofacquired information into the database and analysis of the databaseentries associated with either or both of the sending and deliveryaddresses or entities.

In some embodiments, a shipper may desire to send one or more items to anumber of “unknown” recipients, where the unknown recipients maycomprise potential customers, etc. with whom the shipper has had noprevious communication. Accordingly, the shipper may not have names ordelivery points of these potential customers, and may request that adistribution entity (e.g., an entity that operates a distribution systemas described herein) provide the shipper with a list of names andcorresponding delivery points to which the shipper may subsequently sendone or more items. For example, the shipper may be a publisher of anoutdoors themed magazine. Accordingly, the shipper may request 10000names and delivery points to which they intend to send subscriptionoffers, etc. In some embodiments, the shipper may request random namesand delivery points or may specify in the request the names and deliverypoints of recipients the distribution system knows are interested inassociated subjects, e.g., outdoors activities. Accordingly, thedistribution system may identify and provide names and encrypted (e.g.,anonymized) delivery point information for 10000 recipients, either atrandom or from a database of recipients and associated delivery pointinformation. In some embodiments, the names may be provided without anyencryption or anonymization, but the delivery point information may beencrypted and anonymized so that the shipper cannot easily identifyphysical delivery point information associated with each name, thusmaintaining anonymity for the named recipients while allowing theshipper to communicate with them. In some embodiments, the distributionnetwork supplies names, or does not supply names associated with thedelivery point information.

The gathering, analysis, and implementation of the information and arecipient's participation in the encrypted (e.g., anonymized) programdescribed herein in relation to information stored in a database mayutilize customer and entity “opt-ins.” For example, the systemsdescribed herein may obtain permission from customers and entities forcollection and use of information associated with delivery of items forpurposes outside of general “shipping services.” For example, gatheringand analyzing information from items in order to provide tailoredservices and offerings may be viewed as outside of “postal services,”and thus may utilize customer permissions to allow such actions based onitem information. Some examples of the information collected may includeitem or package information, associations between sender and recipient,associations with important dates or events, etc. Examples of the itemor package information may include characteristics of the items orpackages, such as size, weight, shape, etc. Additionally, the interestof the recipient may be gathered and analyzed by the distributionsystem. Some examples of information collected to determine interests ofthe recipient may include item or package information, such as images ofitems received, characteristics of the items or packages received, suchas size, weight, shape, etc., and sender or recipient information ofitems sent or received by the recipient.

In some embodiments, system described herein configured to perform thedescribed gathering, analysis, and implementation described herein mayrequest and acquire a general information disclosure opt-in system bywhich a resident, customer, and/or entity served by the system maygenerally opt-in/opt-out of any disclosure or approval to collect anyinformation as discussed herein. In some embodiments, the system mayrequest each resident or entity at a particular address or in thedatabase to opt-in to (or out of) each type of information or each stepof information use or element of the household database. Examples ofopting-in may include residents or entities agreeing to allow thegathering, analysis, and implementation of item information orassociation and agreeing to allow the association of their e-mailaddresses with their physical delivery point. In some embodiments,individual disclosure opt-in requests may be utilized for each type ofinformation discussed above, which may include payment information,item/package information, address information, address/entityassociation information, etc.

In some embodiments, individual disclosure opt-in requests may beutilized for each association discussed above. In some embodiments, theresident or entity may be provided with an option to include or excludecertain associations and/or information, such as include the disclosureof an association with a particular e-mail address with the physicaldelivery point while excluding the association of the resident's orentity's Facebook® or Twitter®, or other social media handle, user name,and the like. Accordingly, the opt-in or permission system may offer avariety of customizable options for the customer or entity toselectively utilize. Once the associations between resident names,delivery points, physical addresses, and unique digital identifiers arecreated and stored in the household database, and when the residentshave provided their consent via the opt-in system, the householddatabase may be configured to participate in an encrypted delivery pointinformation system, as described herein. The associations contained inthe household database may thus, as described herein, allow a shipper tosend an item to a known or unknown recipient without actual knowledge ofa delivery point associated with the recipient, such as the recipient'sphysical delivery point.

Furthermore, the distribution system described herein as providing thedelivery point and association information may utilize a householddatabase that comprises the association information between residents orentities at a particular delivery point and any available digital orelectronic identifiers (e.g., e-mail address, IP address, Twitter®identifier, Facebook® identifier, social media handle, virtual address,etc.). The household database may be generated and maintained by varioussystems and methods. These systems and methods may generate and analyzea database comprising information regarding an item or plurality ofitems sent from and received by a particular delivery point or entity.This may include identifying physical attributes of the item orplurality of items being delivered and storing these attributes in thehousehold database. In the household database, these physical attributesmay be associated with one or more delivery points or names from whichthe item or plurality of items were sent and/or to which the item orplurality of items were or are being delivered.

Alternatively, or additionally, the gathering, analysis, andimplementation of the information described below in relation toinformation stored in a database may be performed at a macro level suchthat individual information is not identifiable and is sufficientlymasked, for example, analyzed based on ZIP code, a street, or anapartment building/complex, or by anonymizing addresses and otherinformation seen by a party that requests an analysis.

Once the data is gathered, and when customers and entities have providedtheir permission, the gathered data may be reviewed and analyzed. Thedata may be reviewed to provide additional insights into the customersand entities having items and/or packages delivered and to help explainhow and why customers engage with certain services, and what/why newservices may be appealing for various customers and entities. Forexample, details of items and packages sent from or received at aspecific address may be analyzed to identify particular habits orpotential events (for example, life events) that may have recentlyhappened or may happen in the near future. Similarly, details of itemsand packages sent by or received by a specific customer may be analyzedto determine potential changes in the customer and/or the customer'slife. For example, correlations may be drawn between multiple customersrequesting a change of address to a same physical address and receipt ofa larger number of packages and other items as potential for being anewly married or newly relocated group of people.

In some embodiments, once the data is gathered and reviewed andanalyzed, the results of the review and analysis may be implemented toidentify and/or create new services, products, and offerings to furtherassist customers and entities. In some embodiments, third parties notdirectly involved in the distribution system may provide these newservices, products, and offerings (or other implementations). In someembodiments, the above gathering, reviewing, and implementing processesmay be handled with the strictest of privacy constraints so as toprotect the customers and entities.

As used herein, the term “item” may refer to discrete articles in thedistribution network, such as mail pieces, letters, flats, magazines,periodicals, packages, parcels, goods handled by a warehousedistribution system, baggage in a terminal, such as an airport, etc.,and the like. The term item can also refer to trays, containers,conveyances, crates, boxes, bags, and the like. As used herein, the term“carrier” may refer to an individual assigned to a route who deliversthe items to each destination. The term may also refer to other deliveryresources, such as trucks, trains, planes, automated handling and/ordelivery systems, and other components of the distribution network. Thepresent disclosure also relates to systems and methods to analyze itemssent from or received in a geographic area to identify potentialinformation regarding the item that may provide additional revenuestreams for the distribution network. The term “distribution system” maycorrespond to a collection of components that form a distributionnetwork, as operated by a distribution entity. Accordingly, the terms“distribution system,” “distribution network,” and “distribution entity”may be used interchangeably to refer to the same or similar componentsor entities.

Additionally, as used herein, the term “resident” may refer to anyindividual or entity that resides, works, visits, or is associated witha physical delivery point. For example, as used herein, a person at hisor her office is a resident, as is a student or teacher at a school. Asused herein, a resident can be an entity capable of sending items from adelivery point and receiving items at a delivery point. Additionally,the term “residence” may refer to any building having an assignedphysical delivery point, such as a house, an office building, anapartment, a factory, a school, etc. As used herein, a residence can beany location capable of being a destination for items within thedistribution network or it can be a return delivery point for items inthe distribution network.

For example, an item delivery service or distribution network such asthe United States Postal Service (USPS), the United Parcel Service(UPS), Federal Express (Fed-Ex), or other shipping or item deliveryservice may deliver items of items, such as letters, flats, etc.,according to static routes, and may deliver parcels, packages, and bulkyitems according to dynamic routes. UPS will be used in the presentdisclosure to describe some exemplary embodiments, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. When referencing generically to anyof the services listed above or any item delivery service in addition tothose listed above, the phrase “item delivery service” will be used toindicate such generalities.

The USPS delivers items, such as items and packages, to every physicaladdress in the United States on a daily basis, Monday through Saturday.The USPS is tasked with providing secure, reliable, and affordabledelivery of items to every address in the United States, U.S.territories, and U.S. military installations worldwide. For example, theUSPS delivers more than 528 million items to over 152 milliondestinations or addresses every day. In delivering these items to eachof these addresses, in the United States and worldwide, the USPS is in aunique position of being able to gather information regarding theseitems while they are in transit within the USPS distribution network.For example, the USPS can gather information regarding items received ata residence or by a resident through its distribution network. The USPSmay also identify that a residence or more than one residence within ageographic area requests or receives specific periodicals,advertisements, deliveries, or other items. Additionally, since mostitems likely include a resident to which they are destined, the USPS maycorrelate the residence receiving a specific item with the resident thatis identified as being the recipient of the item, when possible. Thus,the USPS may generate associations between residents and the residencesto which the USPS delivers said items. Additionally, the USPS wishes toprotect the personal information of individuals and other entities towhich the USPS delivers items while providing enhanced services. Thus,the USPS may not wish to simply provide personally identifiableinformation (PII) to shippers or other entities. To protect the PII ofUSPS customers, or of any distribution system, delivery pointinformation can be anonymized and/or encrypted, as described below.

The distribution network of the USPS may comprise multiple levels. Forexample, the distribution network may comprise regional distributionfacilities, hubs, and unit delivery facilities, or any other desiredlevel. For example, the nationwide distribution network may comprise oneor more regional distribution facilities having a defined coverage area,such as a geographic area, for example a state or a metropolitan area,designated to receive items from intake facilities within the definedcoverage area, or from other regional distribution facilities. Theintake facility may function to be the location or facility whereindividual items are, for the first time in the distribution network,identified and entered into the tracking of the distribution network.The regional distribution facility can sort items for delivery toanother regional distribution facility, or to a hub level facilitywithin the regional distribution facility's coverage area. A regionaldistribution facility can have one or more hub level facilities withinits defined coverage area. A hub level facility can be affiliated with afew or many unit delivery facilities, and can sort and deliver items tothe unit delivery facilities with which it is associated. In someembodiments, the unit delivery facility may also serve as the intakefacility. In the case of the USPS, the unit delivery facility may beassociated with a ZIP code. The unit delivery facility can receive itemsfrom local senders, and from hub level facilities or regionaldistribution facilities. The unit delivery facility can also sort andstage the items intended for delivery to destinations within the unitdelivery facility's coverage area.

As described above, the distribution network employed may comprisenumerous pieces of equipment located in various facilities that mayautomatically route items according to information indicated on theitems, physical characteristics of the items, and/or postagecharacteristics. For example, a letter shipped from San Diego, Calif.,to Washington, D.C., with First Class postage may be routed differentlythan a large package shipped between the two locations. Similarly, asecond letter shipped with Next Day postage may be routed differentlythan the letter shipped with First Class postage. The variety ofpotential routes for different types of items or different postageservices indicates the benefit of distributing a system throughout thedistribution network, for example in multiple intake and unit deliveryfacilities, to maximize the amount of information gathered by the systemto associate with residences and addresses.

FIG. 1A depicts a diagram of one embodiment of a distribution system 100used to distribute items between shippers 102 a and recipients 102 b.The distribution system 100 may be employed by an item delivery serviceto distribute items received and to be delivered across a geographicarea. The distribution system 100 shows various distribution points orfacilities. In some embodiments, the distribution system 100 may includemore or fewer distribution points or facilities than shown indistribution system 100. For example, the distribution system 100includes delivery units 104 a and 104 b (e.g., post offices or drop-offlocations). The distribution system 100 may also include semi-regionalfacilities 106 a and 106 b (e.g., sectional center facilities) andregional facilities 108 a and 108 b (e.g., network distribution centersor distribution hubs).

The delivery units 104 a and 104 b may correspond to a facility thatreceives, sorts, and delivers items destined to recipients within agiven geographic area. In the case of the USPS, the delivery units 104 aand 104 b may be associated with a region covered by a ZIP Code™ (atrademark of the USPS). In this role, the delivery units 104 a and 104 bmay receive items from the semi-regional facility 106 a that serves it.These items received from the semi-regional facilities 106 a and 106 bmay be delivered by the delivery units 104 a and 104 b (e.g., via a mailcarrier route, etc.) to the appropriate destination within its coveredgeographic area. Accordingly, the delivery units 104 a and 104 b mayalso sort and stage the items intended for delivery todestinations/recipients within the delivery unit's coverage area.

The delivery units 104 a and 104 b may also serve to receive and enteritems into the distribution system 100. When serving as an intakefacility, items that are received and entered into the distributionsystem 100 may be sent to the semi-regional facilities 106 a and 106 b.In some embodiments, the delivery units 104 a and 104 b may receiveitems from local shippers, from semi-regional facilities 106 a and 106b, or regional facilities 108 a and 108 b. While the delivery unit 104 ais shown as the intake facility, any of the semi-regional and regionalfacilities 106 a and 106 b and 108 a and 108 b, respectively, or otherfacilities not shown, may serve as the intake facility.

The semi-regional facilities 106 a and 106 b may receive and distributeitems between multiple delivery units 104 a and 104 b and the associatedregional facilities 108 a and 108 b. In the case of the USPS, thesemi-regional facilities 106 a and 106 b may each be associated with ageographic region covered by the first three numbers of a ZIP code. Thesemi-regional facility 106 a may serve as a processing and distributioncenter for the respective multiple delivery units 104 a and 104 b withinits respective geographic areas. In some embodiments, the semi-regionalfacility 106 a may receive items from the regional facility 108 a fordistribution to its respective delivery unit 104 a. In some embodiments,the semi-regional facility 106 a may receive items from its deliveryunit 104 a, for distribution to other delivery units 104 b or theregional facility 108 a.

The regional facilities 108 a and 108 b may receive and distribute itemsbetween multiple semi-regional facilities 106 a and 106 b and otherregional facilities. In the case of the USPS, the regional facility 108a may be associated with a region covered by a state or a group ofstates, etc. The regional facilities 108 a and 108 b may serve asprocessing and distribution centers for the respective multiplesemi-regional facilities 106 a and 106 b within their respectivegeographic areas. In some embodiments, the regional facility 108 a mayreceive items from the semi-regional facility 106 a for distributionanother semi-regional facility 106 b that the regional facility 108 aserves. In some embodiments, the regional facility 108 a may receiveitems from its semi-regional facilities 106 a and 106 b for distributionto other regional facilities, e.g., the regional facility 108 b.

When the item enters the distribution system 100 at the intake facility(e.g., regardless of delivery unit 104 a, semi-regional facility 106 a,and regional facility 108 a), the item may be tracked through allsortation and distribution steps through which the item may pass. Insome embodiments, such tracking may be individual to the item or beaggregate for volumes of items. The tracking may occur until the item isdelivered to its destined recipient or until the item leaves a deliveryunit 104 b for delivery to its destined recipient.

In some embodiments, the distribution system 100, as shown, may be anational distribution network that comprises multiple regionalfacilities 108 a and 108 b, multiple semi-regional facilities 106 a and106 b, and multiple delivery units 104 a and 104 b, each having adefined coverage area, such as a geographic area and designated toreceive and/or delivery items to/from recipients and senders in thegeographic area.

As described herein, the distribution system 100 employed may comprisenumerous pieces of equipment located in various facilities and at eachlevel within the distribution system 100 (described and not described)that may scan identifiers on the items, take images of the items,interpret delivery point information from the scans or images of theitems, automatically sort and route items according to the deliverypoint information indicated on the items, physical characteristics ofthe items, and/or postage characteristics. For example, these pieces ofequipment may identify delivery point information that is printed on theitem and reference stored information associated with the delivery pointinformation to assist in the sorting and routing of the item.

Alternatively, or additionally, these pieces of equipment may identifyrecipient delivery point information and sort and route the item basedon the identified recipient delivery point information. In someembodiments, different items being routed between the same locations maybe routed differently based on a type of the item, postage of the item,size of the item, etc. For example, a first letter shipped from SanDiego, Calif., to Washington, D.C., with first class postage may berouted differently than a large package shipped between the twolocations. Similarly, a second letter shipped with next day postage maybe routed differently than the first letter shipped with first classpostage. The variety of potential routes for different types of items ordifferent postage services indicates the benefit of distributing asystem throughout the distribution network, for example in multipleintake and unit delivery facilities, to maximize the amount ofinformation gathered by the system to associate with residences anddelivery points.

FIG. 1B depicts one embodiment of a system 101 for acquisition andanalysis of information in a household database. The system 101 may beintegrated within or at any of the points or facilities described inrelation to the system 100. In some implementations, the system 101 isintegrated across the points or facilities of the system 100 where thesystem 101 is a distributed or centralized system. The system 101comprises a central processor 110, a memory 115, an informationacquisition module 120, an information analysis module 130, a revenuemodule 140, and a communication module 150. The system 101 may beimplemented at any level of the distribution network described above,such as in a unit delivery facility, a hub level facility, a regionaldistribution center, or a national distribution network control level.In some embodiments, the system 101 and/or the various componentstherein may be distributed between one or more levels of thedistribution network described above. For example, the system 101 mayhave one or more components in a unit delivery facility and may haveother components in more than one other facility, for example in theregional distribution center.

In some embodiments, the national distribution network control level maycomprise one central processor 110 and one memory 115 in communicationwith each other module of the system 101, where each other module mayservice a portion of the national distribution network. In someembodiments, multiple systems 101 may be implemented at a local level.For example, one or more of the components of the system 101 may bedistributed between one or more of the unit delivery facility, the hublevel facility, and the regional distribution facility. The multiplesystems 101 may then communicate with each other as necessary. In someembodiments, such a distribution of multiple systems 101 may prove to bemore efficient than having a single, centralized system with which eachof the components must communicate. In some embodiments, the componentsassociated with information acquisition may be distributed at lowerlevels of the distribution network described above, while the storage,analysis, and communications components may be distributed at higherlevels of the national distribution network. For example, theinformation acquisition modules 120 may be implemented at intakefacilities, thus allowing the information acquisition modules 120 tocollect information from items early in or at the end of thedistribution process, for example in intake facilities or unit deliveryfacilities. These information acquisition modules 120 may be incommunication with one or more central processors 110, memory 115,revenue modules 140, information analysis modules 130, and communicationmodules 150, which may be located at different levels than theinformation acquisition modules 120, for example distributed in the hublevel facilities and/or the regional distribution facilities.

In some embodiments, the system 101 may have a single central processor110 and memory 115 with multiple information acquisition modules 120,information analysis modules 130, revenue modules 140, and communicationmodule 150 s, all of which are interconnected. The central processor 110and memory 115 may be configured to interact and communicate with eachof the other modules, wherein each of the other modules may servicedefined coverage areas, such as a specified geographic region. Forexample, a state or a city may comprise a collection of informationacquisition modules 120, information analysis modules 130, revenuemodules 140, and communication module 150 s, that each communicate tothe central processor 110 and memory 115. For ease of discussion herein,the system 101 will be described with reference to its use in a unitdelivery facility. Accordingly, other unit delivery facilities may havetheir own systems 101, where the individual memory 115 and centralprocessor 110 for each system corresponds to the specified geographicregions. In some embodiments, the multiple systems 101 each comprisingcentral processors 110 may share a single memory 115. In someembodiments, the multiple systems 101 each have individual memory 115but all share a single central processor 110. In some embodiments, themultiple systems 101 each have individual memory 115 and individualcentral processors but are still interconnected via one or morecommunications systems.

The central processor 110 can be embodied on a computer or a serverwhich communicates via wired or wireless link to the memory and modulesof the system 101. In some embodiments, the central processor 110 can beremote to the unit delivery facility in which the remaining modules ofthe system 101 are associated, and may service more than one unitdelivery facility. For example, the central processor may be on acomputer or server within the regional distribution facility. Thecentral processor 110 may control and/or direct the operation of thecomponents of the system 101. The communications between the variousmodules of the system 101 described below may occur via the centralprocessor 110 (as shown in FIG. 1B) or may occur directly between thevarious modules (not shown in FIG. 1B). In some embodiments, allprocessing for the various modules of the system 101 may be performed bythe central processor 110.

The memory 115 is in communication with the central processor 110, theinformation acquisition module 120, the information analysis module 130,the revenue module 140, and the communication module 150. The memory 115can store data and information, such as in a household database, arelational database, or in any other information storage format, such ascomma delimited, etc. The memory 115 can also store the operatinginstructions for the modules of the system 101. In some embodiments, thememory 115 may comprise an individual computing system configured tostore information having its own processor and communication modules.

The information acquisition module 120 may comprise a computer, aprocessor, software running on the central processor 110, or the like.In some embodiments, the information acquisition module 120 may beintegrated with one or more other modules of the system 101.Additionally, the information acquisition module 120 may comprise one ormore sensors, cameras, connections with sensors or connections withcameras or other input devices configured to identify and capturephysical attributes of the item. For example, the informationacquisition module 120 may receive inputs or signals comprising, forexample, a mass or weight of the item, dimensions of the item, shape ofthe item, or physical markings on the item, such as a logo ordescription of the contents or a decorative bow or wrapping paper orinfrared or other non-visible markings.

The information analysis module 130 may comprise a computer, aprocessor, software running on the central processor 110, or the like.In some embodiments, the information analysis module 130 may beintegrated with one or more of the other modules of the system 101. Forexample, the information analysis module 130 may be integrated in thememory 115 comprising the household database and may be configured anddesigned to search and analyze the information stored in the householddatabase. In some embodiments, the information analysis module 130 mayalso receive information directly from the information acquisitionmodule 120, the communication module 150, or the central processor 110.In some embodiments, the information analyzed by the informationanalysis module 130 is received from other systems 101 utilized by thedistribution network, which are not depicted nor described here indetail. In some embodiments, the information analysis module 130 may beconfigured to locally store one or more analytical tools (for example,statistical software, etc.) or to store and access analytical tools inthe memory 115.

The revenue module 140, which may be used to generate revenue usinginformation from the household database, may comprise a computer, aprocessor, software running on the central processor 110, or the like.In some embodiments, the revenue module 140 may be integrated with oneor more of the other modules of the system 101. For example, the revenuemodule 140 may be integrated in the central processor 110 and may beconfigured and designed to search the information and analyses stored inthe household database to identify potential implementations to generaterevenue. In some embodiments, the revenue module 140 may also receiveinformation directly from the information analysis module 130, thecommunication module 150, or the central processor 110. In someembodiments, the revenue module 140 may be configured to locally storeone or more identified revenue generating implementation of theinformation or analyses stored in the memory 115 or received from one ofthe information analysis module 130 or the information acquisitionmodule 120.

The communication module 150 comprises a module that is configured toallow any component of the system 101 to communicate with one or moredevices and modules external to the system 101. For example, thecommunication module 150 may provide wireless or wired communicationcapabilities with a communication module 150 of another system 101 orwith a third party. The communications with the third party may be viathe Internet or a similar network type connection. The communicationmodule 150 may be configured to receive communications from thirdparties, for example, requests and queries for analysis of the householddatabase. The communication module 150 may also be configured totransmit the results of the requests and queries for analysis to thirdparties. The communication module 150 may also communicate with othersystems of the item delivery service, for example the systems thatcontrol the services that the item delivery service provides. Thecommunication module 150 may be configured to provide communications foreach of the components of the system 101. The communication module 150may also be configured to allow the modules of the system 101 to accessexternal resources, such as the Internet or a local network, etc.

FIG. 2 is a table 200 indicating examples of information to be stored inthe database of the memory 115 that is acquired through servicesoffered. As shown in table 200, the columns 202 indicate differentfields of data categories or information that may be acquired regardingentities or addresses. Examples of the data categories or informationdepicted in columns 202 include “Name,” “Dates,” “Origin,”“Destination,” “Service Type,” “Item Type,” and “Credit Card”information. Other or fewer data fields or information than those shownin table 200 may be identified and stored in the household database, asdiscussed below.

The rows 204 of the table indicate examples of services provided by theitem delivery service (such as UPS) that may acquire the information ordata categories of the columns 220 of the table 200. Examples ofservices provided shown in table 200 include “Address Change” services,“Scheduling of Item Pick-up” services, “Temporary Forwarding or MailHold” services, postage and shipping supplies purchase and ordering, andPO Box rentals, among others not shown in table 200. Some embodimentsmay include more or fewer data categories. The body of the table 200includes indicators in cells that indicate what data categories in thecolumns 202 may be available or acquired from each service of the rows204. For example, via an address change service request, the itemdelivery service may acquire Customer Name information, dates associatedwith the address change service request, an origin address (thedestination address for the item that may be changed while the addresschange service request is active), a destination address (the address towhich items destined for the origin address may be forwarded), customerregistration information, for example, e-mail address, virtual address,phone number, etc., service type (temporary or permanent or deliveryservice type to be used while the address change service request isactive, for example First Class forwarding or Next Day forwarding), andcredit card information.

While the table 200 of FIG. 2 depicts ten services in the rows 204,additional or fewer services not depicted in table 200 may be utilizedto acquire the nine (or more or fewer) data categories of informationdepicted in this figure. The data categories as shown in table 200 maybe examples of information that is acquired by the communication module150, the central processor 110, the information acquisition module 120,or the revenue module 140. In some cases, the information in thesefields may not be readily available from a physical evaluation of itemsbeing shipped and may be obtained by individual entry or an electronicor physical manifest by the shipper of the item, such as credit cardinformation or dates associated with the item. In some embodiments, theadditional information relating to specific addresses and entities maybe used for mining and analysis. For example, the information analysismodule 130 may use the additional information of the chart in FIG. 2 todetermine when entities may be moving or taking a vacation, which may beof interest to third parties, such as moving companies, shippingcompanies, or security companies. Thus, such information may be providedor otherwise distributed.

The system 101 may utilize the modules described above to identify andgather information from items that are distributed using thedistribution system described above, such as the information in FIG. 2described in brief above. The system 101 may use the informationgathered to identify trends, habits, general preferences, life events,etc., of the residents and entities that send and receive the items viathe item delivery service. The identified trends, habits, preferences,events, etc., may then be used to identify, generate, and implementservices, products, and other applications that may generate increasedrevenue for the item delivery service. For example, the system 101 mayidentify, based on information gathered by the information acquisitionmodule 120 and information received from the temporary forwardingservice of FIG. 2, that a resident is planning a vacation to aparticular destination for a specified amount of time. Additionally, oralternatively, the identified trends, habits, preferences, etc., may bestored in the household database such that the related information isproperly associated in the household database. For example, multiplebi-weekly shipments from a commercial address to a residence may beidentified as paychecks or paystubs given the regularity of shipmentsand other associations.

Such other associations may include identifications that the resident ofthe residence has received an item at the commercial address from thesame sender from which s/he has received at item at the residence.Additionally, or alternatively, the system 101 may identify theresident's interest in golfing based on identifying the resident havingreceived multiple items or packages from golf companies or otherwiserelated to golf. In some embodiments, associations may be obtained fromexternal sources (such as credit history companies) or directly from theresidents themselves. In some embodiments, a resident may identifyinterests in a resident's account or surveys or similar methods ofobtaining resident interests.

The information acquisition module 120 may serve to assist in theidentification and gathering of information of the items in thedistribution system. For example, the information acquisition module 120may acquire information from items, communications, and third partiesfor storage in the household database. The information acquisitionmodule 120 can be embodied in one or more pieces of item handlingequipment or other devices used to process and handle items beingdistributed via the distribution network, for example a handheld scanneroperated by a carrier. For example, the information acquisition module120 may be embodied in equipment configured and designed to scan itemsand acquire information of the items. The equipment can identify, scan,and perform optical character recognition (OCR) on destination andreturn address information.

The information acquisition module 120 may comprise a vision or camerasystem configured to identify and/or capture address information andother information located on or associated with items to be distributed.In some embodiments, the information acquisition module 120 comprisesany other means for identifying and capturing information about itemsbeing distributed. In some embodiments, the information acquisitionmodule 120 may share equipment used to identify items for services ofthe item delivery. In some embodiments, the equipment may identify itemsfor address change, temporary mail hold, or forwarding services. Theseexisting services may currently identify and acquire address informationto perform the requested services. Such shared use with existingtechnologies may reduce costs and simplify integration of the system101. For example, the address change or temporary mail hold services mayutilize equipment or acquire information noted in FIG. 2 which may beshared with and/or gathered by the information acquisition module 120.

The information acquisition module 120 may be configured to generatecomprehensive profiles associated with each residence or resident forstorage in the household database. These comprehensive profiles mayinclude information regarding the residents (for example, the people)that live or work at a particular residence, transactional behavior ofthe residents, and entities that send items to the residents.Additionally, the comprehensive profiles may include internal links orassociations with other comprehensive profiles. For example, thecomprehensive profile for a commercial address may include a link orassociation with a residence where one or more of the residents thatwork at the commercial address lives. The system 101, for example, oneof the information acquiring module 120, the information analysis module130, or the household database in the memory 115, may generate theseinternal links or associations for storage in the household database byanalyzing information already acquired and stored in the householddatabase or memory 115. As noted above, the information acquisitionmodule 120 may also be configured to include information received inrelation to the services referenced in FIG. 2in the comprehensiveprofiles. For example, a resident's request for an address change may becommunicated to the information acquisition module 120 or memory 115 forinclusion in the household database.

The information acquisition module 120 may be configured to receiveinformation relating to items intended for delivery and/or itemsreceived within the area corresponding to the unit delivery or intakefacility in which the system 101 is distributed. In some embodiments,the information acquisition module 120 may be more centralized, locatedwithin a regional distribution facility, and may be configured toreceive information relating to items intended for delivery and/orreceived within the entire region corresponding to the plurality of unitdelivery facilities and hub facilities with which the informationacquisition module 120 (in the regional distribution facility) isassociated.

In the present example, the information acquisition module 120 receivesinformation regarding the items that are destined for a particular unitdelivery facility or received from a particular intake facility withinthe region covered by the information acquisition module 120. Theinformation received can include, for example only, a destination, suchas a destination address and recipient name; a source, such as a returnaddress, source zip code, and sender's name; the size, weight, or otherphysical attribute or characteristic of the item; the service class,such as first class, bulk, and others; postage; desired delivery date;expected delivery date; date item was shipped; and any other desireditem characteristic. In some embodiments, the information received maycomprise one or more of the information of the data categories incolumns 202 of FIG. 2. In some embodiments, the information acquisitionmodule 120 may be configured to focus on specific information whileignoring other information. In some embodiments, when the informationacquisition module 120 is focusing on items destined to the particularunit delivery facility, the information acquisition module 120 mayignore the source information for the item. Alternatively, inembodiments when the information acquisition module 120 is focusing onitems received from the particular intake facility, the informationacquisition module 120 may ignore the delivery information for the item.

The information acquisition module 120 receives information relating toitems from a variety of sources. The information acquisition module 120can receive information from one or more other information acquisitionmodules 120 at higher, lower, or similar levels in the distributionnetwork, from a user or source via the communication module 150 or fromthe central processor 110 of the system or of the national distributionnetwork. The information acquisition module 120 may use other methods togather the information stored in the household database. For example, insome embodiments, the system 101, specifically the informationacquisition module 120, may obtain the electronic information (or anyother information) associated with the residence or resident from othervendors, for example, e-mail account hosts or service providers, such asinternet service providers (ISPs) or phone service providers or cableproviders. In some embodiments, the system may gather much of theinformation in conjunction with revenue generating services provided, asdiscussed in reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. When a customer submits arequest or orders one of the services shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, therequest or order may include fields for the customer's e-mail address,virtual address, phone number, and other electronic unique identifiers.An electronic unique identifier may include, for example, a phonenumber, an e-mail addresses, or social media user information.Additionally, or alternatively, the system 101 may acquire theinformation for the household database, such as a resident's work andhome addresses from other sources, for example, other governmentagencies, etc.

The information analysis module 130 analyzes and searches theinformation acquired by the information acquisition module 120 andstored in the household database of the memory 115. In some embodiments,the information analysis module 130 is in communication with informationanalysis module 120, the central processor 110, the communication module150, and the memory 115, and may receive information to analyze orsearch from any of these components. For example, the informationanalysis module 130 may receive item information from a third party viathe communication module 150 and may search or analyze the receivedinformation accordingly. In some embodiments, the information analysismodule 130 may receive information from more than one source, forexample the memory 115 and the third party via the communication module150, and perform analysis of the received information together. Theinformation analysis module 130 may receive and analyze informationregarding items received at an address or by an entity, items shippedfrom an address or by an entity, or items received within or shippedfrom a geographic region. Additionally, the information analysis module130 may receive requests or queries for searches or analyses to performon the information stored in the household database or informationprovided with the request or query. In some embodiments, the requests orqueries may be received from the communication module 150, whichreceives the requests or queries from third parties or other systems ofthe item delivery system. In some embodiments, the requests or queriesmay be received from the revenue module 140, which may receive therequests or queries from one or more third parties or systems of theitem delivery system.

In some embodiments, the information analysis module 130 may determinewhat information it receives or requests from the household database oranother component of the system 101 based on the requests or queriesreceived. In some embodiments, the requests or queries may be receivedfrom the system 101, for example the revenue module 140. In someembodiments, the requests or queries may be received from a third partywho has been granted access to the system 101. In some embodiments,access to the system 101 may be granted to third parties that pay a feeor purchase one or more requests or queries. For example, theinformation analysis module 130 may receive a request or query from athird party to analyze and identify addresses in a five-block area thatreceive any items (for example, magazines, packages, or postcards)relating to outdoor activities (hunting, hiking, etc.) within the lastyear. Accordingly, the information analysis module 130 may determine itshould request only information for the last year relating to all typesof items received at any of the addresses within the five-block areafrom the household database. In some embodiments, the informationanalysis module 130 may identify that the request or query has thenecessary permissions or that privacy rules have been met such thataccess to the system 101 and the information contained therein is noterroneously distributed or provided to a third party with insufficientpermissions. In some embodiments, the revenue module 140 or thecommunication module 150 may identify that the request or query has thenecessary permissions or that privacy rules have been met. In someembodiments, the permissions and/or privacy rules may be controlled byone or more of the information analysis module 130, the communicationsmodule 150, the central processor 110, or the memory 115. Once thepermissions and privacy rules have been verified, the informationanalysis module 130 may then search the received information for anyassociations with outdoor activities. Thus, the information analysismodule 130 may ignore any information in the household database that wasrelating to items received by one of the addresses in the five-blockarea more than a selected period such as a year ago, may ignore anyitems that were sent from the five-block area, and may ignore any itemsdelivered outside the five-block radius.

The information analysis module 130 may then parse or otherwise analyzethe requested and received information for the addresses within thefive-block area based on relationships to or associations with outdooractivities. The information analysis module 130 may use any method ofanalyzing the information in the household database (and any additionalinformation provided by any other component) to obtain the desiredresults based on the request or query. Accordingly, the informationanalysis module 130 may generate results of addresses that have receivedoutdoor activity catalogs, packages from sports companies, huntingcompanies, or other outdoor activity companies, items from any of thesecompanies, or items that comprise other associations or relationshipswith outdoor activities, for example, a postcard of a scenic landscapeor an item having the name of an outdoor activity company as the senderor return address, or that comprises any outdoor related image on theexterior of the item. In some embodiments, the results of the analysisas performed by the information analysis module 130 may be stored intothe memory 115.

In some other embodiments, the results generated by the informationanalysis module 130 may be communicated to the entity that requested theanalysis, for example via the communication module 150 or via thecentral processor 110. Such communication of the generated results maycomprise formatting the results in a spreadsheet including relevantbreakdowns of the requested information. In some embodiments, thespreadsheet may be electronically or physically sent to the entity thatprovided the request or query. In some embodiments, the results may bemade available to the entity that requested the analysis via a userinterface. In some embodiments, the user interface may be integratedinto the revenue module 140, such that when the generated results arereviewed, revenue is generated. In some embodiments, the user interfacemay be integrated into the communication module 150. In someembodiments, the user interface may be configured to present the resultsof the analysis in a helpful, easy-to-understand manner, for example ina spreadsheet or in a graphical manner.

In some embodiments, the results generated by the information analysismodules 130 in view of the request or query may be stored in thehousehold database or in another database or memory 115. In someembodiments, the information analysis module 130 may request additionalinformation from the information acquisition module 120 if theinformation analysis module 130 determines that the information storedin the memory 115 is insufficient to provide proper results to therequest or query. For example, the information analysis module 130 mayreceive a request or query from an entity to identify females within aten-block area have received items regarding buying a new car, and theinformation analysis module 130 may determine that the informationstored in the household database is insufficient to provide accurate orsignificant results to such a request or query. Accordingly, theinformation analysis module 130 may request the information acquisitionmodule 120 begin collecting additional information relating to itemsregarding buying a new car for residents within the ten block area.

In some embodiments, the information analysis module 130 may beconfigured to analyze information that is provided via the communicationmodule 150 in conjunction with the information received from the memory115 when responding to the request or query. For example, as discussedabove in relation to the request of females having received itemspertaining to buying a new car, the database in the memory 115 may notidentify genders associated with the names saved therein. Accordingly,the information analysis module 130 may be configured to receiveadditional information from the communication module 150, for example, alist of female names. The information analysis module 130 may beconfigured to combine this additional information with the namesreceived from the memory 115 to identify which names are female, andthen further identify which of the female names received items relatedto buying a new car. In some embodiments, the information analysismodule 130 (or any other module of system 101) may be configured toaccess the Internet via the communication module 150. Additionalfunctions of the information analysis module 130 described in greaterdetail below. Upon generating results to the received requests andqueries, the information analysis module 130 may communicate the resultsto the requesting entity via the central processor 110, the revenuemodule 140, or the communication module 150, or store the results in thehousehold database or the memory 115. In some embodiments, theinformation analysis module 130 may access one or more external sourcesto automatically obtain information necessary for analysis of data inthe household database, such as accessing the Internet to obtain a listof female/male names or a calendar of celebrated holidays, etc.

Additionally, the system 101 may gather information pertaining to thetype, contents, source, or destination of the items sent to and receivedat the address. The contents of the item may comprise the one or morearticles contained within the item. In some embodiments, the contentsmay be indicated on the item itself, may be determined from an x-ray (orother non-invasive scanning or security methods) of the item, or may beprovided by the entity that entered the item into the distributionnetwork. The entity providing the item may identify the type of the itemand/or other characteristics of the item. The type of item may includewhether the item is a letter, a magazine, a periodical, a package, etc.The physical characteristics of the item may comprise a weight, a size,a shape, advertisements placed on the item, other markings, decorations,or labels placed on the item, or similar physical attributes of theitem. A timing of the item may comprise the elements of the timing ortimeline of the item, for the example, the date when the item enteredthe delivery and distribution system of the item delivery service, thescheduled or estimated delivery date, or the amount of time that theitem delivery service has been handling the item. Additionally, thesystem 101 may identify a value of the item, such as when disclosed forcustoms or taxation purposes.

All of this information (and more information not described above) thatis automatically collected by the system 101 in the delivery anddistribution of items may be stored in the household database of memory115. The household database may be organized by various entries. Forexample, the household database may be arranged or organized byresidence or by the resident that resides or is present at theresidence. When the resident is associated with multiple residences, forexample, a home address and a work address, the household database mayinclude multiple entries for the resident or may include multiple datafields to accommodate the one or more residences and informationassociated with each residence. For example, the entity may receivespecific items at each residence that may not be received at anotherresidence, such as deliveries of office supplies at the work address anddeliveries of personal goods at the home address.

Additionally, the information from the household database may be parsedor otherwise analyzed to generate additional information that may befurther stored in the household database or other databases.Alternatively, or in addition to the identification of the residents'interests as described above, the physical characteristics of items andpackages sent by a particular entity may be analyzed to determine whattypes of delivery or packaging services a particular resident may finduseful. In some embodiments, the names of the recipient and sender ofthe item or package may provide information that can be used to identifygoods or services of interest to the recipient or potential customers orcustomers of interest to the sender. For example, a package fromGolfsmith may be determined to be golf related, while a package fromWhole Foods may be determined to be food related.

In some embodiments, the permissions and/or privacy rules describedabove may be configured to protect the information stored in the memory115. In some embodiments, permissions and/or privacy rules may also beconfigured to restrict access to the information acquisition module 120or the information analysis module 130. The permissions and/or privacyrules may prevent an unapproved entity, within the item delivery serviceor a third party, from gathering information using the informationacquisition module 120 or analyzing information within the memory 115without the proper authorization. In some embodiments, permissionsand/or privacy rules may prevent unauthorized access to one or moreother modules of the system 101. Additionally, or alternatively, thesystem 101 may anonymize the collected information such that the resultsof analysis performed on information in the household database cannot beused to identify individual residents. For example, the system 101 mayinclude in the household database of memory 115 anonymous identifiersfor each resident or entity having an entry (or association) in thehousehold database.

When reporting results of the analysis to the entity that requests theanalysis, the system 101 (for example, information analysis module 130)may only provide the anonymous identifiers, such that any personalinformation or preferences cannot be determined or identified by theentity requesting the analysis. In some embodiments, the item deliveryservice may provide a service to analysis requesting entities, such thatif the entities want to send an item to a resident identified in aresult of an analysis, the entities can address the item with theanonymous identifier, and the item delivery service may properly routethe item such that is received by the proper resident without thatresident's information being disclosed outside the item deliveryservice. In some embodiments, the information associated with individualresidents or entities may be aggregated such that the smallest portionof information that can be analyzed is a set of residents or entities.

In some embodiments, the household database generated in the memory 115by the system 101 may further include electronic information associatedwith a residence. For example, the system 101 may be configured tocorrelate a resident's residence with one or more of the resident'se-mail address, virtual address, phone number, or any othernon-physical, unique method of addressing or communication. Accordingly,the system 101 may include, in the household database, associationsbetween physical addresses and electronic unique identifiers associatedwith information already stored within the household database. Forexample, the family described above may include two adults, each havingtheir own cellular phone numbers and various e-mail addresses and othersocial media accounts. In some embodiments, the household database maycreate associations between the residence and the phone numbers,internet protocol (IP) addresses, e-mail addresses, virtual addresses,and other social media accounts of the two adults living at thatresidence.

The revenue module 140 may generate revenue using the system 101. Therevenue module 140 is in communication with the memory 115, the centralprocessor 110, the information acquisition module 120, the informationanalysis module 130, and the communication module 150. The revenuemodule 140 may generate outputs or communications to the informationanalysis module 130 based on analysis requests and queries the revenuemodule 140 receives via the central processor 110 or the communicationmodule 150 or other manner. These analysis requests and queries may bereceived from third party entities or from other services of the itemdelivery service. The revenue module 140 may also receive communicationsor inputs from the information analysis module 130 in the form ofresults from the analysis request or query. In some embodiments, therevenue module 140 may be configured to generate additional options forrevenue generation using the system 101. For example, the revenue module140 may offer to provide information from the household database withoutanalysis of the information or may offer to provide the ability tocapture specific information from items being processed by thedistribution network, among others. The revenue module 140 may beembodied as a computer or terminal having a display, a printer, andother output features, or it may be embodied as software, which is run,for example, on the central processor 110. In some embodiments, therevenue module 140 may be configured to charge fees for services offeredbased on the information in the household database.

For example, the revenue module 140 may request the information analysismodule 130 to identify purchasing behaviors of a resident at theresidence, and the revenue module 140 may provide the resident withtargeted coupons or other offerings directly based on the purchasingbehaviors. Alternatively, the revenue module 140 and the informationanalysis module 130 may identify an interest of the resident at thespecific address and may provide the resident with alternative orsimilar activities that would interest the resident based on theresident's other interests.

The revenue module 140 can, for a fee or extra charge, provide adisplay, a printout, or other output which provides or indicates aresult of the information analysis performed by the information analysismodule 130 or otherwise provides information regarding information orservices available for purchase by a third party. Additionally, therevenue module 140 may be configured to generate an invoice or otherwisecharge the entity that makes an analysis request or query or otherwisepurchases information in the household database or requests specificinformation to be acquired, and thus may be configured to generaterevenue based on the information captured and stored by the system 101and other functions of the system 101. In some embodiments, the revenuemodule 140 may be configured to generate revenue by offering otherservices available from any of the components of the system 101 andtheir use in the distribution network.

In some embodiments, the revenue module 140 may be configured, for afee, to generate and implement a new service or revenue generatingapplication based on a request or query performed by the informationanalysis module 130 that involves both information stored in thehousehold database of the memory 115 and other systems or services ofthe item delivery service, such as an augmented reality system. Forexample, the item delivery service may comprise an augmented realitysystem (or a similar system) that allows the item or package in thedistribution system to be scanned with a phone or similar device anddisplay, on the screen of the phone or similar device, additionalinformation associated with the item or package. For example, theadditional information may comprise a commercial associated with aproduct, good, or service being advertised for with the item or package.

The fee-based service implemented by the revenue module 140incorporating the augmented reality system may allow a recipient of theitem or package to scan the item or package with the recipient's phoneor similar device and automatically send a response to the sender of theitem or package. For example, the implemented service may allow therecipient to capture an image of the received item or package and send aresponse to the sender of the item or package by actuating a“soft-button” created by the augmented reality system. The soft-buttonmay be based on the address of the sender, and, when actuated, may allowthe recipient of the item to send an e-mail or physical item to thesender based on the unique identifier of the sender of the item or theunique identifier of the item or another matter. For example, if thesender's address is located on the item or package, then the augmentedreality system may create a soft-button of the sender's address, suchthat when the recipient presses on the sender's address, the recipientis prompted to send a response to the sender's address. If the item orpackage is associated with a unique identifier as discussed above, forexample, marked with the unique identifier or the sender identified bythe return address is associated with the unique identifier, the uniqueidentifier may be associated with an electronic mode of communication.If so, the recipient may be prompted to select the type of communicationto send, physical or electronic.

Similarly, in some embodiments, the implemented service may beconfigured to generate soft-buttons for any information identified onthe item or package or based on any information identified on the itemor package. For example, if the recipient receives a holiday or eventcard, then the implemented service may capture an image of the item orpackage and provide the recipient with a soft-button based on theholiday or event indicated by the item or package. The soft-button mayprovide the recipient with options for sending related items to selectedrecipients to announce or celebrate the holiday or event. For example,the soft-button may ask the recipient if s/he would like to send cardsor other items for the holiday or event indicated on the received itemor package.

In one example, Federal Express (FedEx) currently engages with entitiesand customers in a variety of ways, for example through the sale ofFedEx products and services and through tracking and delivery of itemsthat move through the distribution network. As described above inreference to system 101 of FIG. 1B, the automated tracking and routingof items through the distribution network may be one way FedEx canacquire information regarding addresses and entities for storage in thehousehold database. FedEx may also acquire information for the householddatabase through the sale of products and services by FedEx to customersand through marketing materials distributed to customers or residents.For example, the products and services may include the various itemdistribution services and products available for purchase at a FedExlocation or online, such as, for example a purchase of postage for anitem. Alternatively, additional services not directly associated withthe distribution of a specific item but offered by FedEx may beincluded, for example an address change request or a temporary mail holdor forward request, or passport services, etc. Additionally, oralternatively, FedEx may acquire the information regarding entities andaddresses through sharing of information with other governmentalagencies or by purchasing the information from information aggregatorsor similar sources, or any other information vendor.

In some embodiments, the household database stored in the memory 115 maybe self-perpetuating, anonymous, and encrypted. For example, thehousehold database in the memory 115 may be integrated with the system600 as described below. In some embodiments, the household database maybe self-perpetuating by constantly updating associations betweencustomers or addresses in the database with information received fromthe customers or addresses explicitly. For example, the householddatabase may be updated with information received from interactiveelements of communications with the customer or address, such as surveysor other customer interactive feedback methods. This information,combined with information received from scanning items before they aredelivered, may be used to dynamically update the household database.

Additionally, the household database may be used to provide thirdparties with increasingly customized offerings while allowing thecustomers to maintain anonymity and control that may be available fromother methods of communication. The associations between customers andtheir addresses may be “masked” or anonymized, as discussed in moredetail below, such that information distributed to the third partieswithout fear of the third parties identifying the actual addressesand/or other information of the customers. The household database maythen further associate specific interests with the customers and/oraddresses such that the third parties can be provided with more completeinformation, where the interests are explicit or implied fromassumptions based on received items, as described herein. In someembodiments, the household database may also be encrypted.

FIG. 3 is a table 300 indicating examples of the data mining andanalysis as provided by the information analysis module 130 of FIG. 1Bgiven the services of table 200 in FIG. 2. The columns 302 of the table300 represent “Life Events” that may be determined or otherwiseidentified by the information analysis module 130 based on an analysisof the information acquired by the system 101 and stored in thehousehold database. The rows 303 of the table 300 represent the servicesprovided that may generate the information that, when analyzed, may beused to determine or identify a possibility or likelihood of at leastone of the “Life Events” of the columns 302 having occurred or upcoming.In some embodiments, the analysis may involve comparing customerrequests for one or more of the services of rows 303 with previouslygathered information and statistics regarding the request for the one ormore services of rows 302 and the results or association of the “LifeEvents” of columns 302. For example, the previously gathered informationand statistics may show that when the customer requests an addresschange service, the customer is moving over 90% of the time whencompared to all address change service requests. Alternatively, oradditionally, the previously gathered information and statistics may beacquired by the system 101, where customer requests of the services ofrows 303 may be tracked to determine what “Life Events,” of columns 302,if any, occur in association with the services of rows 303.

The body of the table 300 indicates the possibility and/or highlikelihood of identifying the Life Events in the columns 302 based onthe service in the rows 303 of the table 300 using hashing ofcorresponding cells of the table 300. For example, table 300 indicatesthat the address change service may provide a high likelihood ofidentifying or otherwise determining that the customer requesting theaddress change service is at least one of “Moving,” “Newly Married,”purchasing or having purchased a “New Home,” and “Newly Single.” Thus,the corresponding cells in the table 300 of FIG. 3 are hashed toindicate the high likelihood. Alternatively, a customer of the addresschange service may be identified or otherwise determined as onlypossibly having or having a moderate likelihood of having a “New Job” or“Retiring,” and thus the corresponding cells are hashed accordingly. Asshown in table 300 of FIG. 3, cells shown having vertical shading havebeen identified as “possible” or “moderately likely” life events, whilecells shown having horizontal shading have been identified as being“highly likely” events. Thus, when table 200 of FIG. 2 and table 300 ofFIG. 3 are viewed in conjunction, the data categories of the columns 202of table 200 can be seen to provide insight as to the likelihood ofpredictability of life events of the columns 302 of table 300. Thus,specific information from the data categories may be used to predictlife events.

FIG. 4A is a flowchart depicting a method 400 of storing and analyzingdata in the household database. Method 400 is an exemplary descriptionof a method that may occur in a unit delivery or intake facility in anyregion or locality. As similar to method 400 may be run simultaneously,in an overlapping manner, or sequentially at multiple facilities acrossthe national distribution network. In some embodiments, the method 400may be implemented by the central processor 110, as referenced in FIG.1B. In some embodiments, the one or more of the steps of the method 400may be implemented by one or more of the components of the system 101,as referenced in FIG. 1B. Further details will be provided below. Forease of discussion below, reference may be made to a package and/or aletter sent from Katie Sender, having an address at 1234 Return AddressLane, San Diego, Calif., to Ryan Receiver, having an address at 9876Destination Address Lane, San Diego, Calif.

Method 400 begins at block 402, where items are inducted into thedelivery stream. As discussed above, this may comprise receipt of theitems at the intake facility. Once the items are inducted into thedelivery stream, various equipment that forms the distribution networkat the intake facility level processes the items. For example, the itemsmay be individually sorted from a bulk entry into the intake facilityand placed in or on equipment configured to process individual items fordistribution determination and analysis. In some embodiments, one ormore aspects of block 402 of method 400 may be performed by one or moreof the information acquisition module 120, the communication module 150,the memory 115, and the central processor 110. For example, one or moreof these modules of the system 101 may be configured to receive and/orprocess information from equipment configured to process items. Forexample, the central processor 110 may receive the information from theequipment via the communication module 150 or the informationacquisition module 120 and store that information in the memory 115. Insome embodiments, as discussed above, the information acquisition module120 may receive the information from the equipment directly and store itin the memory 115 without involving the central processor 110.

Block 404 comprises the identification of name and address informationfor the individual items before the individual items can be processedfor proper routing and distribution from the intake facility to thedestination address. In some embodiments, the identification of name andaddress information may comprise scanning the item to identify andcapture an address label or address information printed or otherwiselocated on the item. Scanning the item may occur in response to arequest from the information acquisition module 120, the memory 115, orthe central processor 110. In some embodiments, identifying the name andaddress information includes identifying the recipient and the residenceto which the item is destined as well as the sender and the returnaddress for the item, if they exist. In some embodiments, one or more ofthe sender, return address, residence, and the resident may not bepresent on the item. In some embodiments, scanning the item may comprisecapturing an image of the item, scanning the item with an opticalscanner configured to identify and interpret handwritten or printedinformation (for example, computer printed names and addresses), orscanning barcodes, quick response (QR) codes, radio frequencyidentification (RFID) tags, or other identifying tags or labels capableof providing name and/or address information. Once the name and addressinformation for the item is identified, the method 400 proceeds to block406.

Block 406 comprises identifying secondary information of the individualitems. In some embodiments, the secondary information may be identifiedby the information acquisition module 120 in communication with theequipment described above. In some embodiments, the central processor110 or the memory 115 or the information analysis module 130 may be usedto identify secondary information that is captured in an image or otherstored data. For example, the central processor 110 or the informationanalysis module 130 may analyze a recording/series of images of all ofthe sides of the item to identify any markings or images located on theitem when the images or recording is stored in the memory 115. In someembodiments, the information acquisition module 120 may receive thesecondary information from the equipment handling the item. In someembodiments, the secondary information may comprise one or more physicalattributes of the item, for example, a mass or weight of the item,dimensions of the item, shape of the item, or physical markings on theitem. In some embodiments, the information may further include theservice class, such as first class, bulk, and others, postage, desireddelivery date, expected delivery date, item intake date, being the datethe item was received at an intake facility or other postal facility,and other physical attribute or characteristic of the item.

As described above, the secondary information of the individual itemsmay be captured or otherwise acquired by one or more of measuringsensors and devices configured to weigh the items and to measuredimensions of the items. For example, when the secondary information isnot provided by the shipper or sender of the item, each item processedby the distribution network may be placed on a scale to determine if theitem has sufficient postage for its weight, destination, and serviceclass. The weight as measured by the scale may be secondary informationfor the method 400 as well. In some embodiments, identifying thesecondary information at block 406 may comprise obtaining the relevantinformation from a shipping manifest or other similar document asprovided by the shipper or sender and as may be stored in a database orsystem of the and item delivery service. The secondary informationidentified in block 406 may change dynamically dependent upon theinformation desired. For example, in some embodiments, a scent or odoremitted by the item may be desired to be identified for each processeditem (for example, to identify flowers, food, or personal careproducts).

In some embodiments, the secondary information may include an indicationof the type of item such as a magazine, a postcard, a letter, or apackage (small, medium, large, odd dimensioned, etc.). In someembodiments, the item may comprise text printed on the item itself, suchas text and/or pictures on a catalog cover or postcard or single pageflyer or item. In such embodiments where the secondary information mayinclude a large amount of text or pictures, the method 400 may beconfigured to analyze the text or pictures and identify keywords orpictures that best summarize or characterize the entire item. Forexample, the method 400 may identify that a magazine comprising picturesof hunting gear on the cover and words related to hunting is a huntingmagazine or an outdoors magazine (or both).

For example, a resident may receive a magazine, periodical, or packagewithout a return address, or having a return address but not havingidentifying information for the shipper or sender. If the system 101cannot determine the shipper or sender from the address (for example, bylooking it up on the Internet or in a centralized directory, etc.), thenthe method 400 at block 406 may attempt to gather secondary informationfrom the item. For example, the block 406 may capture one or more imagesor videos of the item and may analyze the images or videos to identifysecondary information. In some embodiments, a magazine or periodicalrelated to hunting may comprise hunting gear or words related to hunting(as mentioned above) and thus may create associations in the householddatabase of memory 115 between the resident receiving the magazine orperiodical and hunting. Additionally, associations in the householddatabase between the shipper's or sender's address and hunting may becreated and saved. Additionally, or alternatively, in order to provideinformation for additional analysis, the associations may includegeographic locations, frequency of items, interest in the items (is theitem an advertisement or something requested), etc. Once the method 400identifies the secondary information for the individual items, themethod 400 progresses to block 408.

Block 408 comprises storing the information identified by blocks 404 and406 in the household database stored in the memory 115. As describedbriefly above, each of the intake, hub, and regional distributionfacilities may comprise more than one memory 115, for example, when eachlevel of the distribution network has its own system 101. Thus, in suchembodiments, the block 408 may comprise storing the identified name andaddress information and secondary information in a local householddatabase in the local memory 115 associated directly with the intakefacility. In some embodiments, a single household database within memory115 may exist for the entire national distribution network, while thevarious levels of the distribution network may comprise one or more ofthe other components of system 101. In such embodiments, the block 408may store the information identified by blocks 404 and 406 in thenational distribution network memory 115. Once the information is storedin the household database of memory 115, the method creates associationswithin the database at block 410.

Block 410 comprises creating, within the household database of thememory 115, associations between identified names, addresses, andsecondary information. For example, for the letter from Sally Sender toRyan Receiver described above, the block 410 may create associationsbetween Sally Sender's name and her address, Ryan Receiver's name, andRyan Receiver's address. The associations in the household database maybe tied to each of the various entries, such that accessing SallySender's name in the household database would show the associations withher address, Ryan Receiver, and Ryan Receiver's address. Alternatively,accessing Ryan Receiver's address in the household database would showthe associations with Ryan Receiver's name, Sally Sender, and SallySender's address. For example, if the letter from Sally Sender weighsone ounce, includes the phrase “Happy Birthday,” and is delivered onJanuary 15, each of these pieces of information may be stored in thehousehold database with associations to at least Sally's name, Sally'saddress, Ryan's name, and Ryan's address. In some embodiments, more orfewer associations may be made for each piece of information identifiedfrom the item.

In some embodiments, secondary information may be associated with Sallyand Ryan and their respective addresses. For example, the size, source(if originating from another source other than Sally), or other markingson the item received may be stored in the household database andassociated with both Sally and Ryan. The associations may includegeographic locations, frequency of items, interest in the items, such aswhether the item an advertisement or something requested, etc. In someembodiments, the household database may passively store informationuntil requested for analysis. In some embodiments, the householddatabase may only store information that is requested for analysis. Theamount of information stored, the duration for which it is stored, andthe type of information stored may dynamically change based on afrequency of analysis for a type of information. For example, if a typeinformation is often analyzed, then the household database may storethat information indefinitely. However, if the household databasedetermines that a type of information was only requested for analysisonce in the past year, then the household database may store thatinformation or a finite amount of time. In some embodiments, the type ofinformation (i.e., categories of information) may be designated prioritynumbers or other similar identifiers to indicate importance or to trackhow long to store the information. Once the associations are created andsaved within the household database, the method 400 proceeds to block412.

At block 412, a request or query is received. In some embodiments, therequest or query may comprise a request to analyze and search theinformation stored in the household database to provide all itemsassociated with a particular keyword, term, characteristic, etc., forexample to search for residents that have received items associated withhunting or to identify residents that have received birthday items. Asan additional example, the request or query may be received thatrequests the names of all persons within a zip code that have receivedan item relating to golf. Such requests or queries may come from thirdparties outside the item delivery service, for example a golf equipmentsupplier. However, in some embodiments, the item delivery service maysubmit its own requests or queries, for example when trying to identifycustomer behavioral trends and preferences and/or trying to identify newservices to provide to customers that would increase revenue. Once therequest or query is received, the method progresses to block 414.

Block 414 comprises determining whether the household database containsthe information necessary to respond to the received request or query.For example, some third party or service of the item delivery servicerequests or queries may require analysis of information of which asufficient amount is not stored in the household database or identifiedby the method 400. In some embodiments, the method 400 may progress toblock 416, where the new information is added to the secondaryinformation to be identified at block 406. For example, if a third partysends a request or query regarding the number of residences in a zipcode that receive items packaged (e.g., “packaging material”) in polymerfoam or other temperature controlling or insulating materials, themethod 400 may determine that sufficient information to provide athorough response to the request or query is not currently available.Accordingly, the method 400 may progress to block 416, where it adds“packaging material” (or similar additional information pertaining tothe request) to the secondary information to be identified at stored atblock 406 and 408, respectively. In some embodiments, the method 400 maydetermine that insufficient information is available if the number ofavailable associations is less than a threshold number (for example,less than 1000 records available in a zip code containing 400000residences, etc.), while in some embodiments, the determination thatinsufficient information is available may be based on an algorithm orother criteria.

However, if the received request or query is determined not to requireinformation not stored in the household database, then the method 400may proceed to block 418. At block 418, the method 400 mines orotherwise analyzes the information stored in the household databaseaccording to the received request or query. In some embodiments, theresults of the analysis may be provided in the form of a listing ofinformation from the household database that meets the requirements ofthe request or query. For example, if the query requests the names ofall people on a street that received a package from a specific onlineretailer, then the results may be a list of all the names that havereceived a package from the retailer. Alternatively, the results of theanalysis may comprise statistical information. For example, the requestor query may involve determining how many residences in a zip code madepurchases following a mass mailing to all residences in the zip codecompared to the number of residences in the same zip code that madepurchases following a targeted mailing campaign. Additional detailsregarding the methods for exemplary requests or queries are discussedbelow.

Once the method 400 returns the results to the request or query, themethod 400 repeats or ends. In some embodiments, within a single system101, one or more of the block 402-418 may be performed simultaneously.For example, while the method 400 is mining the information in thehousehold database at block 418, the method may also be identifyinginformation from an item in blocks 404 and 406 and storing theidentified information from another item in block 408. In view of theamount of items processed on a daily basis, such ability tosimultaneously identify information from items and store identifiedinformation in the household database while the household database isbeing analyzed may allow the system to operate efficiently andcurrently, where new items are instantaneously available for analysis.

In some embodiments, the block 418 mining or otherwise analyzing thehousehold database may comprise a variety of individual sub-methods,depending on the mining or analysis that must take place in light of therequest or query. Some examples of these sub-methods are shown in FIGS.4B-4D and described below. In some embodiments, the sub-methods of FIGS.4B-4D may be utilized in conjunction with the system 600 of FIG. 6. Forexample, the entities that are provided the anonymized recipientinformation discussed in further detail below may request thatinformation through any one or more of the processes of FIG. 4B-4D.

FIG. 4B depicts a first example of the sub-method 420 for mining andanalyzing the household database in a general manner, for example,mining and analyzing the household database to provide a list ofresidents or residences that have specific associations in the householddatabase. The method 420 may begin with block 421, where the method 420identifies parameters from the request or query for which the householddatabase is to be searched. In some embodiments, this may compriseidentifying the desired search term from the search request. Forexample, when the request or query comes from a third party requesting alisting of all residences that receive magazines related to golf, theblock 421 of method 420 may identify “golf” and “magazines” as thesearch terms for which the household database should be searched.

At block 422, the method 420 may search the database for associationsincluding the identified terms or parameters from block 421. Searchingthe household database may comprise utilizing the information analysismodule 130 described above in relation to FIG. 1B. The searching maycomprise finding all the residences that receive magazines and analyzingfor any associations of magazines with golf. The information analysismodule 130 may perform the analysis of the household database using anymethods or processes for analyzing and searching databases. Once thehousehold database has been searched, the method 420 may generate thesearch results from the search and provide the results to the party thatprovided the request or query. As discussed above, in some embodiments,the results provided to the party that provided the request or query maybe anonymized such that the party may be unable to identify individualresidents or entities and may not have access to any personal oridentifying information for the residents or entities in the results.Instead, the party may receive anonymous identifiers that the itemdelivery service may associate with the associated should the party sendan item addressed to the anonymous identifier. In some embodiments, theitem delivery service may randomly change the anonymous identifiersassociated with each resident and entity such that the party may not beable to identify the associations.

In some embodiments, the item delivery service may be able to identifyresidents that have specific associations or receive item(s) that meetspecific requirements, and thus gather, analyze, and provide thatinformation to third parties that may provide goods or services similarto the associations identified. Such information may allow the thirdparties to perform targeted marketing campaigns, where advertisementsand/or promotional materials are only sent to those residents identifiedas having an interest in the third parties goods or services, asdetermined by having previously received an item associated with thegoods or services. Additionally, the item delivery service may be ableto identify resident behavioral trends and preferences, based on theanalysis of previously received items. The item delivery service maybenefit from providing the information to the third party as well as thepotential for increased delivery of items to the residents identified bythe analysis. Additionally, or alternatively, the item delivery servicemay obtain fees without providing the information to the third parties,instead maintaining the information internally and preparing and sendingthe marketing items directly to the identified residents.

FIG. 4C is another example of the sub-method 430 for mining andanalyzing the household database to predict future actions and events.For example, the method 430 may identify parameters to be searched inthe household database at block 431. However, in some embodiments,unlike the sub-method 420, the parameters to be searched may not comefrom a request or query, but instead may come from an item that is beingprocessed in the distribution network. In some embodiments, theparameters to be searched in sub-method 430 may come from a request orquery. Regardless of the source of the parameters, the method searchesthe household database for the parameters at block 432. Once the method430 obtains the results from block 432, it progresses to block 433.

At block 433, the method 430 predicts a future event based on theresults obtained in the search of block 432. For example, the search atblock 432 may involve identifying ranges of dates where a residentreceived a large number of items but where the resident did not send anincreased number of items. Such a range of dates may be identified as abirthday or other event celebrated by the resident. Alternatively, asearch at block 432 that involves identifying ranges of dates where theresident both receives a larger number of items than average and alsosends a larger number of items than average may result in thedetermination that this identified range of dates includes a holidaythat is celebrated by multiple residents at various residences. In someembodiments, images of the items sent and received may be analyzed todetermine that the identified range of dates includes a religious,national, or other holiday.

Thus, the item delivery service may be able to identify residents thatcelebrate specific holidays or participate in specific ceremonies orevents, and thus gather and provide that information to third partiesthat may provide goods or services associated to those holidays,ceremonies, or events. Additionally, or alternatively, the item deliveryservice may be able to use the identified results to provide additionalservices to the residents, for example offering bulk pick-up or deliveryfor multiple items or providing reduced shipping costs for items shippedduring specific date ranges.

FIG. 4D is another example of the sub-method 440 for mining andanalyzing the household database to perform statistical analysis. Forexample, the method 440 may identify parameters to be searched in thehousehold database at block 441, similar to methods 420 and 430described above. However, the parameters to be searched in the householddatabase may essentially comprise two separate searches for differenttime points. For example, if the request or query wishes to determine iftargeted items are more effective than items distributed to a generalaudience, then two searches of the household database may be performed,for example one before the targeted item and one after the targeteditem. Depending on the analysis request or query, different frequenciesor relationships may exist between the searches. At block 442, themethod 440 searches the database for the desired results and progressesto block 443.

At block 443, the method 440 may retrieve the results identifyingdifferences between shipping habits of residents in a specified areabefore and after the targeted or general item from the third party wasdistributed. For example, if residents within a first area receivedtargeted items in the first area increased consumption of the advertisedgood or service by 20% after receiving the targeted item whileconsumption by residents within a second area that received generalitems in the second area increased by only 10% after the general item,then the method 440 may identify that targeted items are more effectivethan general items. Such information may be reported as the result ofthe analysis request or query at block 444. Alternatively, instead ofproceeding to block 443, the results of the search of the householddatabase may be returned to the party that made the analysis request orquery so that the party may perform the further analysis via block 444.Additionally, or alternatively, the method 440 may perform additionalanalysis of statistics identified in the search at block 442, and mayprovide such statistical analysis to the party that provided theanalysis request or query. Alternatively, or additionally, informationfrom retailers may be gathered and analyzed to identify an increase insales in local or national stores to areas that received increaseditems, etc., to identify a correspondence between the increased itemsand the potential for increased sales. Such information may be providedby the item delivery service to potential clients to indicate thepotential increase of sales that can be attained by using specificitems, as may be identified by the item delivery service.

Other uses for the analysis and mining of the information in thehousehold database may be provided as identified below without referenceto a flowchart. In handling millions of items each day, the distributionnetwork has access to millions of addresses, return addresses, itemdescriptions, and frequency of delivery, among other information, thatcan be acquired from the items being handled. For example, the system101 may identify bills received by a resident, for example, a waterbill, electric bill, phone bill, or any other bill that the resident mayreceive at its residence. Accordingly, system 101 may be able to updatethe household database to indicate what utilities the home having aparticular physical address uses, and such information may be providedto utility providers or used to establish additional services offered bythe USPS or other merchants, suppliers, etc. Additionally, the householddatabase may include the frequency the bills are received or how oftenpayments are shipped from the home on time or late. Accordingly, theinformation in the household database may be used to remind the residentof due dates for bills or warn of a bill that has not been received or apayment that may have been lost in transit.

In some embodiments, the system 101 may be capable of estimating oridentifying a probable range of salaries for a neighborhood based on thecollective shipping habits of the neighborhood. For example, if, onaverage, the neighborhood spends a given amount on postage each month oroften receives items from high end (or otherwise expensive) retailers orstores, the system 101 may determine that the neighborhood probably hasa given salary range. Such a determination may involve acquiringexternal information, for example information identifying the averagesalary of a household that shops at the high end retailer or statisticalinformation associating average postage purchased with average salary,etc.

Alternatively, the system 101 described above in relation to FIGS. 1B-4Dmay be configured to integrate with existing services. In someembodiments, the system 101 may be integrated into the system 100 andutilized by service subscribers (as described in further detail below).For example, when a delivery address is identified for an item enteredinto the distribution network, the information analysis module 130 mayidentify in the household database that the destination address orresident has an account with the USPS that allows additionalcommunications or features. These additional communications or featuresmay include electronic or physical communications or any other mode ofcommunication. For example, the information analysis module 130 mayidentify that the destination residence or resident has requestedelectronic notification of any packages or other items that enter thedelivery stream destined for the residence or resident. Accordingly, theinformation analysis module 130 may provide that information to thecentral processor 110 or other external module or system via thecommunication module 150 so that the residence and/or resident areappropriately notified. If the information analysis module 130 does notidentify a request for electronic notification, such information may beprovided to the revenue module 140 which may send an offer to theresidence or resident regarding the electronic notification services. Insome embodiments, such advance notification may allow residents and/orresidences to filter items, requesting the USPS to return or destroyitems that the resident or residence does not desire or did not request.

In some embodiments, the requests or queries are generated by the itemdelivery service and may effectively run continuously such that theyprovide results in real time while customers are using services of theitem delivery service. For example, if a customer is purchasing postageonline via a USPS service, then the USPS may recognize the customer viaan online account identifier, for example, a name, user name, address,payment information, etc. The USPS service may automatically query thehousehold database for any information regarding upcoming life eventsfor people to whom the customer has sent an item recently, etc., so asto offer targeted services to the customer. For example, the request orquery may identify people to whom the customer has sent a thresholdnumber of items to, people to whom the customer is related, people fromwhom the customer has received items celebrating the same or similarlife events, or any other parameters. The USPS service may then providethe customer with reminders or notifications of identified life events,for example an upcoming birthday for a sister or an anniversary for thecustomer's parents. Accordingly, the USPS may ask the customer if hewould like to send a gift, card, flowers, etc., and provide suchservices via the same interaction with the customer.

In some other embodiments, the requests or queries may function asbackground services, where the timeliness of the results is not ascritical and where the request or query need not be triggered by actionfrom a customer. For example, the USPS may provide a service ofproviding reminders of upcoming or identified life events in one or morepeople a customer knows. The USPS service may be configured toautomatically provide reminders at least a month in advance.Accordingly, the USPS service may request or query the householddatabase to provide a list of identified upcoming life events and theassociated people on a scheduled basis (for example, the first of themonth) without being triggered by an action of the customer. Thecustomer may receive an electronic or other communication to remind ofupcoming events, etc.

In conjunction with the discussion of the Life Events as referenced inFIG. 3, life events such as birthdays and holidays or cultural aspectssuch as religion, ethnicity, or heritage may be identified from a morethorough analysis of the stored information. For example, when aparticular addressee or entity receives items within a specifiedduration (for example, one week) in successive years withoutcorresponding items being sent from the particular address or entityduring the same duration, the information analysis module 130 maydetermine that within the specified duration is a birthday or otherannually celebrated life event (for example, an anniversary).Alternatively, if the particular address or entity receives items withinthe specified duration in successive years with corresponding itemsbeing sent from the particular address or entity during the sameduration, the information analysis module 130 may determine that acelebrated holiday or event exists in the duration (for example, areligious or cultural holiday or celebration). Thus, in someembodiments, durations when the address or entity receives items withoutsending similar quantities of items may indicate that an eventcelebrated by the address or entity occurs in a proximity of theduration. In some embodiments, durations when the address or entityreceives items and sends similar quantities of items may indicate thatan event celebrated by both the address or entity and other addresses orentities occurs in the proximity of the duration.

Once the information analysis module 130 identifies a possible event,such information may be provided to third parties or used by the itemdelivery service to generate revenue. For example, in some embodiments,the item delivery service may offer value added services to individualswho are celebrating an event where they receive items, such as, forexample, offers to hold items if the recipient may be traveling oroffers to provide pre-addressed and pre-posted thank you cards orletters based on the number of items received at the address relating tothe event being celebrated. When the information analysis module 130identifies the possible event that is celebrated by many addresses orentities (such as the religious holiday mentioned above), the itemdelivery service may provide offers to provide event appropriate,pre-addressed and pre-posted cards or letters based on the addresses andquantity sent in previous years. For example, if the resident at theparticular address sent an average of fifty holiday cards over the lastfive years, the USPS may offer to supply the resident with fifty holidaycards, pre-posted and pre-addressed with the fifty addresses to whichthe resident most recently sent holiday cards. In some implementations,the pre-addressed items may be addressed using anonymized information toensure only appropriate people are provided with identifying information(e.g., to avoid issues if the pre-addressed items are intercepted byanother individual in the home, etc.).

In some embodiments, the item delivery service may use the informationacquired and stored in the household database of the memory 115 toidentify service metrics. Based on the identified service metrics, theitem delivery service may offer customers promotions or services topromote improved customer relations. For example, the informationanalysis module 130 may be configured to identify excessive delays indistribution of items by the distribution network. When the informationanalysis module 130 identifies that a particular address or entity isaffected by excessive delays or other issues in the distribution ofitems to the address or entity or from the address or entity more thanaverage, the item delivery service may offer the address or entitypromotions or services to curry favor with the resident.

In some embodiments, the item delivery service may identify an item thatis to be delivered to a destination address where a first deliveryattempt failed or where first delivery attempts frequently fail (forexample, more than a threshold percentage of times). Accordingly, theitem delivery service may use data in the household database to identifythe recipient and associated communication methods (e-mail, phone, itemdelivery service accounts, etc.) so as to try to contact the recipientto schedule a convenient delivery option and reduce automated deliveryattempts that may fail. Such communications may reduce expenses for boththe item delivery service and the recipient of the item because the itemdelivery service may not attempt to deliver the item and save associatedcosts and expenses while the recipient may not waste time and expenseswaiting for the delivery of the item.

If the recipient does not have any associated communication methods inthe household database, then the item delivery service may use thisopportunity to send an offer of the available services with an examplebenefit to the recipient. For example, a service of the item deliveryservice may monitor attempted delivery scans as processed by the itemdelivery service distribution network. These attempted delivery scansmay be performed by carriers attempting to delivery items but beingunable to do so, for example due to the recipient not being available atthe destination address. The associated addresses and recipientinformation may be identified for these attempted delivery scans, andthe household database may be searched to identify those recipients oraddresses associated with item delivery service customer accounts. Ifthe recipients and addresses do not have customer accounts, thehousehold database may be searched for associated contact information(phone, e-mail, social media) for the recipients and addresses. Ifcustomer accounts or other contact information is identified in thehousehold database, the item delivery service may coordinate delivery ofthe items via those means. If the customer accounts or other contactinformation is not identified, then the item delivery service mayprovide offers for such services to the corresponding resident oraddress.

The various methods described above (for example, methods 400, 420, 430,and 440) may be performed by one or more modules of the system 101. Forexample, one or more of the blocks of methods 400, 420, 430, and 440 maybe performed by one or more of the central processor 110, theinformation acquisition module 130, the memory 115, or the informationanalysis module 130. In some embodiments, the identifying of theparameters for the search may be performed by the communication module150 that receives the analysis request or query, by the informationanalysis module 130, the revenue module 140, or the central processor110. In some embodiments, generating the final results of the receivedrequest or query may be performed by the information analysis module130, the revenue module 140, the communication module 150, or thecentral processor 110. Additionally, in some embodiments, anypredicting, identifying, analysis, or other blocks performed on theresults of the search of the household database of memory 115 may beperformed by the information analysis module 130 or the centralprocessor 110.

As discussed above, the household database may contain associationsbetween a resident's e-mail address or other unique identifier andresidence. Such an association may allow items to be automaticallydirected to the resident at the residence when the item is onlyaddressed with the resident's e-mail address, thus allowing the residentto disclose only an e-mail address to prospective parties intending tosend an item to the resident. Having one's physical address associatedwith one's e-mail address (or other unique identifier) may provefruitful to maintaining privacy with vendors or other sources of items.For example, a resident ordering an item for delivery may provide themerchant providing the item with the resident's e-mail address or phonenumber. Accordingly, the merchant sending the item may address the itemto the resident using only the resident's e-mail address or phonenumber. When the item is received by the item delivery service, the itemdelivery service may access the household database to identify aresidence (physical address) associated with the e-mail address or phonenumber. Then the distribution system may automatically route the item tothe appropriate residence. In some embodiments, the distribution systemmay apply the resident's physical address to the item to ease deliveryof the item, while in other embodiments, only the e-mail address may beapplied to the item. For example, the distribution system may apply theaddress according to the anonymized information described below inrelation to FIG. 8 (e.g., utilizing an Intelligent Mail Barcode® (IMb™,a trademark of the USPS)). If the e-mail address or phone number is notassociated with a physical address, then the item delivery service mayattempt to communicate with the resident using the unique identifier bysending an e-mail to the e-mail address or calling the phone number toobtain the proper physical address. Alternatively, or additionally, theitem delivery service may return the item to the sender if noassociation between the unique identifier and physical address is found.

Additionally, tracking items and packages moving through the itemdelivery service distribution network may also provide opportunities forthe item delivery service to gather information for the database. Whenproviding item or package tracking updates, the item delivery servicemay provide customers with the option to receive real-time or otherupdates via social media or text message or e-mail, thus providing anadditional resource for gathering information for the database.

The household database described above may allow the item deliveryservice to leverage the data gathered by any of the item deliveryservice offered services as well as data gathered in the normal courseof delivering and distributing items and packages to physical addresses.In some embodiments, the household database may include paymentinformation, for example, a credit card or debit card number, a bankaccount number, a PayPal account, or any other electronic payment methodidentifier, which may be associated with a specific entity or physicaladdress. This payment information may be used to allow automatic ormanual payment of services by a customer (a sender or a receiver).

FIG. 5 depicts a process flow chart for an example of a method for usingthe household database to distribute and deliver an item having anon-physical, unique identifier as the destination. At block 502, theitem is inducted (or received) into the delivery stream having only anon-physical, unique (or virtual) identifier as the destination. Forexample, the non-physical, unique (or virtual) identifier may comprisean e-mail address, a virtual address, a phone number, a social mediatag, user account information, or any other unique identifier that doesnot designate a physical location. A virtual identifier, as describedherein, comprises any identifier that is unique to one resident orresidence but does not designate a physical location. For example, ane-mail address or a phone number are virtual identifiers because theyare unique to a particular entity or address but do not designate aphysical location. On the other hand, a street address recognized by theitem delivery service is relatively constant and cannot be changed by anentity moving geographic locations. However, an e-mail address or aphone number can move with the associated entity between geographiclocations, and thus, is considered a virtual identifier for purposes ofthe discussion herein. Once the item has been received by thedistribution network, the method 500 proceeds to block 504.

At block 504, while the item is in the distribution network, the methodcaptures the virtual identifier or otherwise determines or identifiesthe virtual identifier placed on the item, for example using theinformation acquisition module 120 described above in reference to FIG.1B. In some implementations, the virtual identifier may be anonymized ina IMb™ format, as described in more detail below. When the distributionand delivery system identifies that the item utilizes a virtualidentifier, the system may cause the item to be handled differently thanif it included a standard, item delivery service—recognized, streetaddress. If the item does include a virtual identifier, the method 500proceeds to block 506. If the item does not include a virtualidentifier, then the method 500 proceeds to block 508.

At block 506, the method accesses the household database to identify aphysical address associated with the virtual identifier. This mayinvolve searching the household database for physical street addresses,names, and virtual identifiers. They may also involve decrypting ordecoding the IMb™ using the rotating keys, etc., as described inrelation to a encrypting/decrypting module. Accordingly, the physicaladdress associated with the virtual identifier is either placed on theitem (via a relabeling system) or the distribution network notes theassociation between the virtual identifier and the physical address andstores it in the system to simplify the distribution process. Thephysical address may be applied to the item via a label with thephysical address, via a barcode encoded with the physical address, orvia any other means of identifying the physical address on the item.Once the physical address associated with the virtual identifier isplaced on the item or stored in the distribution network, the method 500proceeds to block 508.

At block 508, the method 500 determines whether the resident to whom theitem is addressed has an account with a customer interaction system. Thecustomer interaction system may comprise a system offered by the itemdelivery service that allows residents and customers to create profilesto simplify repeated user of the item delivery service. For example, thecustomer interaction system may be used to request any of the servicesidentified in FIGS. 2 and 3, such as the address change service or theitem forwarding service. In some embodiments, the customer interactionsystem may comprise individual user accounts for each resident orcustomer that elects to use the system. The user accounts may includecontact information for the resident or customer (for example, My Choicewith UPS, myUSPS.com with the USPS, etc.).

If the customer does have an account with the customer interactionsystem, the method 500 proceeds to block 510, where an entry for theitem labeled with the physical address or associated with the physicaladdress is created in the customer interaction system. Once the entry iscreated for the item, the method 500 proceeds to block 514. The customerinteraction system may be a system that allows a customer to identifyitems destined for them or items that they have sent or otherwiseinteract with the item delivery service (for example, purchase postage,manage PO boxes, etc.). The entry in the customer interaction system mayprovide the customer with a notification that an item is on its way tothe customer. In some embodiments, the entry may also indicate one ormore of the sender of the item, the location of the item, the timing ofthe item, physical parameters of the item, and a photo or image of theitem.

If the method 500, determines that the resident to whom the item isaddressed does not have an account with the customer interaction system,the method 500 may move to block 512, where the method may contact theresident with promotions or offers to join the customer interactionsystem, after which the method may progress to block 514. At block 514,the item may continue to be processed by the distribution network untilthe item is delivered to the resident having the virtual address.

FIG. 6 depicts a block diagram of one embodiment of an encrypteddelivery point information system 600 for acquisition, control,analysis, and distribution of encrypted and anonymized recipientdelivery point information. The delivery point information system 600comprises a processor 610, a memory 615, an encryption/decryption module620, a communication module 625, one or more commercial interfaces 630,item processing equipment 635, a mobile computing device 640, and anauthentication module 645. In some embodiments, the delivery pointinformation system 600 may comprise more or fewer components than shownin FIG. 6, or one or more of the components may be combined with one ormore other components. In some embodiments, the system 600 may beutilized in one or both of the systems 100 and 101 of FIGS. 1A and 1B.In some embodiments, the system 600 may be configured to assist inacquiring and/or applying recipient information from mail items in thedistribution system. In some embodiments, the system 600 may beconfigured to interface with the household database to provideinformation from the household database to requesting shippers in ananonymized manner. In some implementations, the system 600 may integratewith the system 101 to identify information based on requests receivedfrom shippers (etc., identify 10000 addresses in an area that receiveholiday cards, birthday cards, etc., within a time period) and providethe identified information to the requesting shipper in an anonymizedfashion.

In some embodiments, the delivery point information system 600 may be adistributed system. For example, the delivery point information system600 may comprise one or more components that are centralized (e.g., theprocessor 610, the memory 615, the communication module 625, theencryption decryption module 620, the authentication module 645, and thecommercial interfaces 630) with other components distributed in variouslocations, where all of the components are interconnected, for example,via the communication modules 625. In some embodiments, more or fewercomponents may be distributed and/or centralized. When in a distributedsystem with centralized components, the centralized components may beconfigured to interact and communicate with the distributed components.For example, a state or a city may comprise a collection of mobilecomputing devices 640 or item processing equipment 635 that are eachdistributed and that each communicate with the central components (e.g.,the processor 610, the memory 615, the communication module 625, orencryption/decryption modules 620). Accordingly, when decryptingencrypted delivery point information, the distributed system 100 mayfunnel all decrypting functions to the centrally locatedencryption/decryption module 620.

In some embodiments, each piece of equipment that handles an item in thedistribution system 100 may comprise each of the components shown inFIG. 6. Accordingly, when decrypting encrypted delivery pointinformation, the item processing equipment may locally perform alldecrypting functions with a built-in encryption/decryption module 620.

For ease of discussion herein, the delivery point information system 600may be described as a centralized system with various componentintegrated with the delivery unit 104 as described herein. Accordingly,delivery facilities may have their own delivery point informationsystems 600, where the individual memory 615 and processor 610 for eachsystem corresponds to the specified geographic regions. In someembodiments, the multiple delivery point information systems 600 eachcomprising processors 610 may share a single memory 615. In someembodiments, the multiple delivery point information systems 600 eachhave individual memory 615 but all share a single processor 610. In someembodiments, the multiple delivery point information systems 600 eachhave individual memory 615 and individual processors but are stillinterconnected via one or more communications modules 625.

The processor 610 can be embodied on a computer or a server whichcommunicates via wired or wireless link to the memory and modules of thedelivery point information system 600. In some embodiments, allprocessing for the various modules of the delivery point informationsystem 600 may be performed by the processor 610. In some embodiments,the processor 610 may comprise the processor of a piece of itemprocessing equipment or a mail computing device. Accordingly, theprocessor 610 may be integrated within the equipment or device and maynot perform or control any distributed functions or processing.Accordingly, each individual piece of equipment or device may performany necessary decrypting or encrypting processes locally. In someembodiments, the processor 610 may be configured to process informationreceived from any of the components to which it is coupled. In someembodiments, the processor 610 may run software or programs stored inthe memory 615 or received from any of the components of the deliverypoint information system 600. In some embodiments, the processor 610 maybe integrated or coupled with the processor 110 of system 101.

The memory 615 is in communication with the processor 610, and (via theprocessor 610) the communication module 625, the authentication module645, the commercial interfaces 630, the mobile computing device 640, andthe item processing equipment 635. The memory 615 can store data andinformation, such as in the household database, a relational database,or in any other information storage format, such as comma delimited,etc. In some embodiments, the memory 615 may include a database ofdelivery point information, such as address information, and a databaseof encryption and decryption protocols or standards. In someembodiments, the memory 615 may also include a database of relationshipsbetween encryption/decryption protocols and delivery points and/orcustomers. The memory 615 can also store the operating instructions forthe components of the delivery point information system 600. In someembodiments, the memory 615 may comprise an individual computing systemconfigured to store information, the computing system having its ownprocessor and communication modules. In some embodiments, the memory 615may be a local memory of the item processing equipment 635 or the mobilecomputing device 640. When the memory 615 is local to the itemprocessing equipment 635 or the mobile computing device 640, the memory615 may store operating instructions for the equipment or computingdevice and/or may store encryption and decryption information for use bythe encryption decryption module 620 and/or the processor 610 in alocalized manner. In some embodiments, the memory 615 may be integratedor coupled with the memory 115 of system 101.

The commercial interface 630 may comprise an interface through whichusers (e.g., customers, third party shippers, etc.) can requestanonymized delivery point information (e.g., encrypted delivery pointinformation) for recipients, manage existing requests, receive computerreadable codes from the distribution system, and view results fromprevious requests. In some embodiments, the commercial interface 630 maycomprise a computer system, a processor, software running on theprocessor 610, a website or portal operated by an external system, orthe like. In some embodiments, the commercial interface 630 may beintegrated with one or more other modules of the delivery pointinformation system 600, such as the authentication module 645 or thememory 615 or the processor 610. In some embodiments, the commercialinterface 630 may allow the user to view and manage various parametersfor their request of encrypted delivery point information. For example,the request may include a number of requested names and delivery points,a duration for which the encrypted delivery points may be desired tofunction, and any additional information associated with the request(e.g., corresponding interests of the recipients, etc.). In response tothe request for the encrypted delivery point information, the processor610 may access the memory 615 (e.g., the household database) to identifythe number of requested recipient names and delivery points. In someembodiments, the identified recipient names and delivery points may bestored in a temporary database or storage file before they are madeavailable to the commercial interface 630 for management or viewing.

The encryption/decryption module 620 may comprise one or more of anencryption module or a decryption module. In some embodiments, theencryption module may encrypt the delivery points of the identifiednames so that the user or shipper requesting the names and deliverypoints is unable to identify an actual physical delivery pointcorresponding to a recipient's name from the information thedistribution service supplies in response to the user's or shipper'srequest. Thus, only the delivery point information system 600 is able toassociate the encrypted delivery point information with the properdelivery point for delivery. The encryption/decryption module 620 mayutilize one or more algorithms, keys, etc. The encryption/decryptionmodule 620 may change algorithms, keys, etc., randomly or on a periodicbasis in order to obscure the user's ability to reverse engineerdelivery points corresponding to names of recipients. In someimplementations, the encryption/decryption module 620 may be utilized toencrypt or decrypt any of the virtual, electronic, or physicalinformation described above. For example, e-mail addresses, phonenumbers, social media names, etc., may be encrypted/decrypted to ensureprivacy. In some implementations, the encryption/decryption module 620may send generate or determine sorting instructions to send to the itemprocessing equipment 635 for proper sorting and delivery routing ofitems.

In some embodiments, the encryption/decryption module 620 may usedifferent algorithms or keys for different users in order to add anadditional layer of complexity to the encryption/decryption process.These encryption procedures may protect the privacy of the recipientswhose encrypted delivery point information the delivery pointinformation system 600 provides to the user. Accordingly, the user maynot repeatedly send mailings to the recipients on a list of encryptedrecipient information over an extended period of time without requestingupdated information from the delivery point information system 600.

The communication module 625 comprises a module that allows anycomponent of the delivery point information system 600 to communicatewith one or more devices and modules external to the delivery pointinformation system 600. For example, the communication module 625 mayprovide wireless or wired communication capabilities with acommunication module 625 of another delivery point information system600 or with the user described herein. The communications with the usermay be via the Internet or a similar network type connection. Thecommunication module 625 may receive communications from users, forexample, requests and queries for analysis of the anonymous deliverypoint information. The communication module 625 may also transmit theresults of the requests and queries for analysis to the requesting user.In some embodiments, for example when one or more of the components ofthe system are distributed, the communication module 625 may alsocommunicate with other components of the delivery point informationsystem 600. For example, when the encryption/decryptions functions ofthe delivery point information system 600 are centralized separate fromthe processor and/or memory, then communication modules 625 may allowfor communication between the remote components.

Similarly, communication modules 625 may provide for communicationbetween any other components that are remote from each other.Accordingly, the communication module 625 may be configured to providecommunications for each of the components of the delivery pointinformation system 600. The communication module 625 may also beconfigured to allow the modules of the delivery point information system600 to access external resources, such as the Internet or a localnetwork, etc. In some embodiments, the communication modules 625 may beintegrated or correspond to the communication module 150 of system 101.

The item processing equipment 635 may comprise equipment that thedelivery point information system 600 uses to scan, identify, sort,route, and otherwise distribute items from their respective sources totheir respective destinations or recipients. In some embodiments, theitem processing equipment 635 may comprise sensors, cameras, and acomputer or a processor or software running on the processor 610, or thelike. Using its various sensors, the item processing equipment 635 mayidentify encrypted delivery point information on an item being handledby the item processing equipment 635 and request that theencryption/decryption module 620 decrypt the encrypted delivery pointinformation so that the item processing equipment may properly sort orroute the item.

In some embodiments, the item processing equipment 635 may be integratedwith one or more other components of the delivery point informationsystem 600. The item processing equipment 635 may be configured toreceive one or more signals from one or more sensors, cameras,connections with sensors or connections with cameras or other inputdevices configured to identify and capture physical attributes of theitem. The signals received by the item processing equipment 635 mayinclude inputs or signals comprising, for example, scans of written orprinted delivery point information, scans of barcodes (e.g., anIntelligent Mail Barcode® (IMb™, a trademark of the USPS)) that isprinted on the item, a mass or weight of the item, dimensions of theitem, shape of the item, or physical markings on the item (such as alogo or description of the contents or a decorative bow or wrappingpaper or infrared (or other non-visible) markings). In some embodiments,the item processing equipment 635 may be configured to communicate thereceived inputs or signals to any of the other components of thedelivery point information system 600. In some implementations, the itemprocessing equipment 635 may comprise the information acquisition module120 of FIG. 1B. In some implementations, the item processing equipment635 may comprise the information analysis module 130 of FIG. 1B.

The one or more mobile computing devices 640 may comprise a mobiledevice (for example, a cell phone or a PDA), a computer, a processor,software running on the processor 610, or the like. In some embodiments,the one or more mobile computing devices 640 may be integrated with oneor more other modules of the delivery point information system 600. Theone or more mobile computing devices 640 may represent input mechanismsor modules allowing the mail carrier handling the item to provide inputto the delivery point information system 600. In some embodiments, theone or more mobile computing devices 640 may include a camera or otherimage or multimedia capturing functionality (e.g., barcode capturecapability) such that a carrier manually handling the item comprisingthe encrypted delivery point information may be able to access theunencrypted delivery point information via the encryption/decryptionmodule 620. In some embodiments, the mobile computing devices 640 mayfurther include text input capabilities (such as a physical ortouchscreen keyboard), such that the carrier may input descriptions orvarious text phrases into the delivery point information system 600. Insome embodiments, the mobile computing device 640 may comprise multiplepieces of hardware (for example a camera and a PDA) or may be integratedinto a single piece of hardware (for example, a smartphone, a tablet, acomputer, a mobile delivery device (MDD) or a tablet computer, etc.).

The authentication module 645 may authenticate users who requestanonymous recipient delivery point information via the delivery pointinformation system 600. For example, the delivery point informationsystem 600 may only provide the anonymous delivery point information tousers who have registered and provided specified information to thedelivery point information system 600 (e.g., name, address, contactinformation, etc.). The authentication module 645 may authenticate usersvia any known means, for example, user names and passwords, randomizedunique identifiers, etc. Once the use is authenticated by theauthentication module 645 (for example, via the commercial interface630), the user may be allowed to request, manage, or view anonymousdelivery point information.

In some embodiments, the delivery point information system 600 may beimplemented or incorporated at one or more levels of the distributionsystem 100 described herein, such as in the delivery unit 104, thesemi-regional facility 106, or the regional facility 108. In someembodiments, various equipment from any of these facilities may comprisethe item processing equipment 635. In some embodiments, equipment fromthe facilities may be coupled to and/or integrated with the deliverypoint information system 600. For example, routing and sorting equipmentat any of the distribution points of the distribution system 100 maycommunicate or be integrated with the anonymized information system whenrouting or sorting items that include encrypted or anonymizedinformation. Alternatively, or additionally, the intake facilities maycommunicate or be integrated with the delivery point information system600 to route and sort items that they intake that may include encryptedor anonymized information. In some embodiments, one or more pieces ofthe sorting and routing equipment may comprise one or more components ofthe delivery point information system 600 (e.g., theencryption/decryption module 620, the memory 615, and the processor 610)so that encrypted delivery point information can be decrypted locallywithout any need for external communications. In some embodiments, oneor more of the components of system 600 may be integrated with or maycomprise one or more of the modules of system 101.

FIG. 7 depicts a graphical flow chart of the distribution system 100 ofFIG. 1A as integrated with the delivery point information system 600 ofFIG. 6 to create an encrypted shipping system 700 for use by a servicesubscriber 702. As shown, the service subscriber 702 (e.g., shipper,customer, etc.) communicates with the delivery point information system600. The subscriber 702 also provides items having encrypted deliverypoint information applied thereon to the distribution system 100. Thedistribution system 100 communicates with the delivery point informationsystem 600 to decrypt the encrypted delivery point information appliedto receive items and routes the items to carriers that distribute theitems to the intended recipients 102B.

In function, the subscriber 702 may submit a request to the deliverypoint information system 600 to obtain and/or request encrypted deliverypoint information. The request may be submitted after the subscriber 702is authenticated by the authentication system 708. In some embodiments,the authentication system 708 may be integrated with the delivery pointinformation system 600. In some embodiments, the encrypted deliverypoint information may comprise recipient name and delivery pointinformation. For example, the subscriber 702 may request a list of 1000recipients at random or corresponding to a given geographic region,subject of interest, social or financial class, etc. In someembodiments, the request may be via an application program interface(API) where the delivery point information system 600 comprises anaggregate data set or database. In response to the request, the deliverypoint information system 600 may provide the requested list. In someembodiments, the response may include a rejection to the request with areason for the rejection, such as an invalid request or a request thatexceeds the information to which the subscriber has access, or lack ofinformation in the delivery point information system 600 to provide therequested list, etc.

Where the request is for a list of names and corresponding deliverypoints or other identifying information (e.g., phone numbers, e-mailaddresses, etc.), the delivery point information system 600 may providethe list in an encrypted format. For example, as described herein, thedelivery point information system 600 may provide a list of names withcorresponding encrypted computer readable codes, such as barcodes, orencrypted delivery point information that the subscriber 702 uses toprint computer readable codes, such as barcodes, on the items. Theencrypted delivery point information or barcodes may correspond toaddress information that the distribution system 100 uses to properlyreceive, sort, and route items to which the encrypted delivery pointinformation or barcode is applied (once the distribution system 100decrypts the encrypted delivery point information or barcodes). Thisprocess is described in greater detail herein. In some embodiments, theentire delivery point information or barcode may not be encrypted and/orthe delivery point information system 600 may also provide additionalinformation that may assist in the routing of items to which theinformation is applied, such as a delivery code or similar information.

Once the encrypted delivery point information system 600 provides thesubscriber 702 with the requested information, the subscriber 702 mayapply the received information to an item to be shipped or mailed viathe distribution system 100. In some embodiments, when the subscriber702 receives each requested encrypted delivery point information fromthe delivery point information system 600 as encrypted computer readablecode, the subscriber 702 applies each computer readable code toindividual items and introduces the items having the encrypted computerreadable codes thereon into the distribution system 100. In someembodiments, the computer readable code may be a barcode, such as anIMb™ (an RFID tag, a QR code, an alphanumeric code, or any other desiredcomputer readable code, which uniquely identifies the item and/orencodes information relating to the item.

When the subscriber 702 receives the requested information from thedelivery point information system 600 as encrypted delivery pointinformation (e.g., a string of numbers that must be converted to thecomputer readable code), the subscriber 702 may encode the receivedinformation to the computer readable code before applying the computerreadable code to the item. In some embodiments, the subscriber 702 mayprovide the items and the received encrypted computer readable code orencrypted delivery point information to a third party that convertsand/or prints the encrypted computer readable code onto the items. Asdescribed herein, since the computer readable code is encrypted, thesubscriber 702 may not continue to send items to the named recipient102B beyond a specified duration, after which the encryption algorithmis be changed, thus cancelling or invalidating encrypted computerreadable codes after a certain time or date. In some embodiments, theencrypted computer readable codes can be single-use codes, such thatonce an intake, routing, or delivery scan occurs on some item processingequipment within the distribution system 100, a subsequent intake ordelivery scan of the previously used encrypted computer readable codemay return an error, and the item processing equipment may not furtherprocess the item, and the shipper or sender may be notified.

FIG. 8 is a representation of a delivery point information block 800comprising a computer readable code 804 and corresponding deliveryinformation 802 and recipient name 406 that may be applied to items,where the computer readable code 804 and the delivery information 802may be based on encrypted delivery point information received by thesubscriber 702 of FIG. 7 from the encrypted delivery point informationdelivery point information system 600 for distribution by thedistribution system 100. Items that are distributed through thedistribution system may comprise a computer readable code as describedelsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the computer readable code mayallow a distribution entity, such as a commercial carrier, the UnitedStates Postal Service, or other distributor, to track, sort, and routeeach item throughout the distribution process. Thus, to allow forreal-time tracking, sorting, and routing of items in the distributionsystem, each item may comprise a unique computer readable code. Asdescribed herein, the computer readable code may be a barcode, such asan IMb™, an RFID (radio frequency identification) tag, a QR (quickresponse) code, an alphanumeric code, or any other desirable computerreadable code, which uniquely identifies the item and/or encodesinformation relating to the item. Each computer-readable code may bescanned by processing equipment of the distribution system, carriers ofthe distribution system having mobile scanners, personnel in thedistribution system, transportation providers, or by other entitieswithin the distribution chain.

In some embodiments, the recipient name 406 of the delivery pointinformation block 800 may be replaced with a generic identifier thatassists the mail carrier in delivery of the item. For example, therecipient name 406 may be replaced with the term “resident” or any otheridentifier when printed on the item. In some embodiments, a social mediahandle, email address, or the like originally used as the uniqueidentifier as an input into the system 600 may be printed as part of thedelivery point information block 800 instead of the recipient name 406.As such, the unique identifiers may assist in delivery of the item. Insome embodiments, the mail processing equipment 635 can detect theunique identifiers during sorting and routing, for example during OCRscans of items and cross verify the printed encrypted information anddelivery codes with the corresponding information associated with theunique identifier in the system 600. In some embodiments, the recipientname 406 may also be left blank or replaced with a vanity term, forexample “potato chip lover,” “lucky winner,” “Mercedes driver,” or thelike.

In some embodiments, the system 600 may not return the recipient name406 when delivery point information is requested, but rather only returnthe computer readable code 804 (e.g., comprising the delivery point/11digit zip code) and/or the delivery information 802. In somecircumstances, the system 600 may return the original name or uniqueidentifier with its associated delivery information 802 and encryptedelements of the computer readable code 804 for relational purposes. Insome embodiments, the sender may be responsible forapplying/distributing the delivery point information bock 800 includingthe recipient name 406 field as well as creating the computer readablecode 804 with appropriate mailer ID and other information. In the casewhere a rotating encryption keys are used (e.g., where each key is validfor a known period the system), an indication regarding which encryptionkey was used to generate the encrypted elements of the IMb™ may beincluded in the IMb™ to denote the encryption used or its valid timewindow. In some embodiments, the sender may incorporate this indicationinto the service type ID of the IMb™. This indicator may indicate to themail processing equipment 635 which encryption key should be used fordecryption of the encrypted IMb™. If the encryption key is a perpetualkey and is valid for long periods or forever, then no indicator may beprovided. In some embodiments, system 600 may also return the entireIMb™ and delivery information.

In some embodiments, the delivery information 802 of the delivery pointinformation block 800 may comprise 3 digits as described herein oranother combination of digits to assist the mail carrier in identifyingmisrouted or out of sequence items. In some embodiment, a route numbermay be added in carrier readable form to the beginning or end of the sixdigits of the delivery information 802 to assist the mail carrier. Insome embodiments, many different combinations for the deliveryinformation 802 may be used. In some embodiments, the sequence of thedigits of the delivery information 802 may also be changed to adjust thedelivery information indicated. For example, the delivery information802 may be the last 2 digits of an address, the last 2 digits of anapartment number, and the 2 digits of a carrier route (e.g., 13 00 52).Another example of the delivery information 802 may be the 3 digitvehicle/route number and the stop number for that vehicle/route (e.g.,R13 083). In some embodiments, the delivery information 802 and itsformat and/or contents can be selected to assist the mail carriers whiledisguising or anonymizing the address to the public or to thesubscriber.

In some embodiments, the computer readable code 804 may correspond to anIMb™. As shown, the IMb™ may correspond to a four-state barcode thatencodes a string of 31-digits. In some embodiments, each digit maycomprise a value of 0-9. In some embodiments, the IMb™ may be replacedwith any other barcode or similar computer readable code comprising aplurality of characters. The 31-digit string of the IMb™ may comprise atleast five different fields, where the size of the fields may vary basedon the information contained within each of the fields. The first fieldmay comprise two digits and may correspond to a barcode identifier (BI).The BI may comprise a specific two-digit identifier assigned primarilyto encode a presort identification that is printed in human readableform on an optional endorsement line (OEL) as well as a source channelidentifier. The second field may comprise three digits and maycorrespond to a service type identifier (STID). The STID may correspondto any services that are requested for or on the item. The third fieldmay comprise either six or nine digits and may correspond to a maileridentifier (MID). The MID may identify a shipping entity or customer.The fourth field may comprise either six or nine digits and maycorrespond to a serial number. The serial number may aid in establishinguniqueness of the item to which it is applied. The fifth field maycomprise zero, five, nine, or eleven digits and may correspond to arouting code. The routing code may be used for routing the item to itsfinal delivery point. The first four fields may be describedcollectively as a tracking code and may be used for identification andtracking purposes of the item to which the IMb™ is applied. The trackingcode may always comprise a total of twenty digits.

The routing code may comprise a delivery point ZIP Code™, correspondingto the delivery point of the item. Its length may be dependent on anamount of routing information available. For example, if only the ZIPcode of the recipient is known, then the routing code may comprise onlythe five digits of the known ZIP code, with no trailing digits (e.g.,zeroes) to be added. Thus, for example, if no ZIP code is known, therouting code may have a length of zero digits. As described herein, therouting code may be encrypted for anonymized delivery point information.As only the digits of the routing code determine the destination, onlythe routing code needs to be encrypted so as to prevent a sender fromdetermining a recipient's physical delivery point. In some embodiments,the entire IMb™ may be encrypted to prevent a shipper from associating aparticular item with a recipient's delivery point.

In some embodiments, delivery information 802 may also be included alongwith the IMb™. The delivery code may correspond to a six character codedivided into two three-character sequences. Each of the six charactersmay correspond to a value of digits 0-9 or letters A-Z. The firstthree-character sequence may correspond to the last three characters ofthe primary delivery point number in a first address line of the addressof the recipient of the item, such as the house number. The secondthree-character sequence may correspond to the last three characters ofthe secondary delivery point number in a second address line of theaddress of the recipient of the item, such as the apartment or unitnumber. The two three-character sequences may be separated by a space.In some embodiments, the delivery code may not be encrypted oranonymized while the routing code of the IMb™ is encrypted. In someembodiments, both the delivery information 802 and the routing code maybe encrypted. In some embodiments, only the delivery information 802 maybe encrypted by the routing code is not encrypted. For simplicity, thediscussion herein may describe the routing code as being encrypted bythe delivery information 802 is not encrypted. The delivery information802 can be used by a carrier to identify the delivery point ordestination of an item during the carrier's delivery route. In someembodiments, the IMb™ may be configured to include one or more of theidentifiers described above (e.g., virtual addresses, e-mail address,etc.). In some implementations the IMb™ may be stored in the householddatabase of the memory 115 as being associated with one or more physicaladdress, virtual addresses, e-mail addresses, phone numbers, socialmedia identifiers, virtual handles, etc. so that the IMb™ may providedelivery information for any item regardless of how it is addressed.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a method 900 for providing an encrypteddelivery point to a user based on a user request. The method 900 may beperformed by the processor 610 of the delivery point information system600. The method 900 starts at block 902 and proceeds to block 904. Atblock 904, the commercial interface 630 and/or the communication module625 receives a user request for recipient information. In someembodiments, the user may be an individual, business, or other entitythat wishes to send items to one or more recipients. For example, thisuser request may comprise a simple query as to whether or not the method900 or the delivery point information system 600 is capable of providinganonymized delivery point information. In some embodiments, the userrequest may comprise user authentication or similar processes. Once theuser request is received, the method 900 proceeds to block 906.

At decision state 906, the processor 610 determines whether the user hasany recipient requirements. For example, the user may request only namesand delivery points of recipients who have specific interests oreconomic means, etc. If the user does have recipient requirements, themethod 900 proceeds to block 908, where the user enters the recipientrequirements, after which the method 900 proceeds to block 910. If theprocessor 610 determines that the user does not have any recipientrequirements, the method 900 proceeds directly to block 910. Forexample, if the user is the publisher of the outdoor magazine describedherein, the user may wish to receive only names and delivery points ofpeople with an interest in outdoor activities. Accordingly, such arequest may be included in the recipient requirements.

At block 910, the commercial interface 630 or the communication module625 receives any user specifics regarding the anonymous recipientinformation. For example, the user specifics may include a quantity ofrecipient information (e.g., a number of names and correspondingdelivery points), a duration for which the user requests the anonymousrecipient information be valid, or similar details regarding thefunctionality of the anonymous recipient information itself. Once theuser specifics are received at block 910, the method 900 proceeds toblock 912. For example, user specifics may include the request for 10000names and delivery points or a request that the 10000 names and deliverypoints be valid for up to three months. In some implementations, theuser specifics may be used in relation to the identified parameters ofmethod 420 of FIG. 4B. For example, if the user specifics requested arenot part of the database, method 420 may provide for acquiring thosespecifics from items and providing anonymized information based on theuser specifics accordingly.

At block 912, the method 900 identifies the requested recipientinformation based on any recipient requirements and the user specifics.For example, the method 900 may search a database or the memory 615 forthe recipient name(s) and delivery point(s) as requested by the userrequest and corresponding information. In some embodiments, theidentification of the requested recipient information may be performedby the processor 610 and/or the memory 615. In some embodiments, theassociations between recipient name and delivery point may be stored inthe memory 615 in an internal database or in an external database, suchas the household database. The processor 610 and/or the memory 615 maygenerate a temporary list or database including the requested number ofuser names and corresponding delivery point information. Once therequested number of delivery points are identified, the method 900proceeds to block 914.

At block 914, the method 900 select an encryption key or algorithm. Insome embodiments, the selection may be based on the user specifics(e.g., duration). In some embodiments, the selection may be based on theuser itself or may be randomized. For example, for a request of a largenumber of recipient names and delivery points, the method 900 may selecta more complicated encryption key or algorithm to reduce the ability forthe user to reverse engineer the encryption key. In some embodiments,the selection of the encryption key or algorithm may be performed by theencryption/decryption module 620. In some embodiments, the selection ofthe encryption key or algorithm may be performed by the processor 610.Once the encryption key or algorithm is selected, the method 900proceeds to block 916.

At block 916, the method 900 encrypts the delivery point information forthe temporary list or database generated during block 912. For example,the delivery point information corresponding to each name in the list ordatabase may be individually encrypted to anonymize the information suchthat the user cannot determine the actual physical delivery point thatcorresponds with a given recipient name. In some embodiments, asdescribed herein, the entire delivery point information for eachrecipient name is encrypted. In some embodiments, only the routing codeand the delivery code may be encrypted. In some embodiments, only one ofthe routing code and the delivery code may be encrypted. Once thedelivery point information is encrypted, the method 900 proceeds toblock 918.

At block 918, the method 900 sends the encrypted delivery pointinformation to the user. In some embodiments, sending the encrypteddelivery point information to the user may comprise sending an 11-digitrouting code for each recipient name in the temporary list or database.In some embodiments, sending the encrypted delivery point informationmay comprise sending a 31-digit string that the user can convert to anIMb™ for application to items with corresponding recipient names. Insome embodiments, sending the encrypted delivery point information mayalso include sending the delivery code 802 to the user. As describedhere, in some embodiments, the delivery code 802 may be encrypted alongwith the encrypted routing code. In some embodiments, sending theencrypted delivery point information further comprises sending anindicator indicating that the recipient information is encrypted. Insome embodiments, this indicator may be applied to the item so that thedistribution system is able to easily identify that the item has anencrypted IMb™. In some embodiments, an indicator of which encryptionkey was used to encrypt the information may be included with theencrypted delivery point information that is sent to the user. In someembodiments, concurrent with the encrypted delivery point informationbeing sent to the user, the method may also create an entry in theencryption/decryption module 620 or the memory 615 or in some storagelocation associating the user and/or the specific item with theencryption key used in the encrypted delivery point information. In someembodiments, the barcode ID portion of the IMb™ may indicate theencryption key used. For example, the barcode ID may comprise a value of82, 83, or 84 to indicate an encrypted IMb™. In some embodiments, aparticular logo or other printed information may be used to indicate anencrypted IMb™. Once the method 900 send the encrypted delivery pointinformation to the user, the method ends at block 920. In someimplementations, instead of sending the encrypted delivery pointinformation to the user, the method 900 may apply the encrypted deliverypoint information to an item to be mailed directly without sending it tothe requesting shipper first.

FIG. 10 is a flow chart of a method 1000 of receiving, sorting, androuting an item comprising encrypted delivery point information to arecipient. In some embodiments, the method 1000 may be performed by thedistribution system 100 comprising the delivery point information system600. In some embodiments, the method 1000 may be performed by each pieceof item processing equipment 635 and/or mobile computing device 640 inthe anonymous information delivery point information system 600 thathandles the item. Accordingly, the method 1000 may be performed locallyby each item processing equipment using components similar to thosedescribed in relation to FIG. 6 or may be performed locally andremotely, where some or all of the processing may be performed in acentral location. In some embodiments, the method 1000 starts at block1002 and proceeds to block 1004.

At block 1004, the item processing equipment 635 or the mobile computingdevice 640 receives an item to enter into the distribution system 100for delivery to a recipient. In some embodiments, the receiving of theitem may occur at an intake facility and may be performed by a firstitem processing equipment of the distribution system 100 that scans theitem. In some embodiments, the receiving of the item comprises scanningthe IMb™ or other computer readable code, as described herein. Thescanning may be performed by one or more components of the itemprocessing equipment 635 or the mobile computing device 640 as used by acarrier. Once the item is received, the method 1000 proceeds to block1006. In some implementations, the method 1000 may utilize aspects orcomponents of the system 101 to perform the scanning functions.

At block 1006, the processor 610 and/or the encryption/decryption module620 determines whether the item received in block 1004 comprisesencrypted delivery point information. In some embodiments, thisdetermination may be performed by the item processing equipment 635and/or the mobile computing device 640. In some embodiments, thisdetermination may comprise identifying an encryption indicator orsimilar indicator. In some embodiments, this may comprise identifyingthat the routing code of the IMb™, if not analyzed as having beenencrypted, would be invalid. In some embodiments, the tracking codeportion of the IMb™ may be used to determine whether the item comprisesan encrypted routing code. For example, as the tracking code portion ofthe IMb™ can be a unique code specific to the item, informationregarding the encrypted nature of the corresponding routing code of theIMb™ may be determinable (e.g., based on the association of the itemwith its encryption key in the storage location, as described herein).If the item is determined to comprise encrypted delivery pointinformation, the method 1000 proceeds to block 1008. If the item isdetermined to not comprise encrypted delivery point information, themethod 1000 proceeds to block 1014.

At block 1008, the processor 610, the memory 615, and/or theencryption/decryption module 620 flag the item as encrypted and decryptsthe encrypted delivery point information. This flagging and decryptionmay occur in the item processing equipment 635 or the mobile computingdevice 640, and, as such, the communication module 625 may also beinvolved. In some embodiments, the item may be flagged so as to indicateto other item processing equipment 635 that the item is encrypted, whichmay reduce processing times by downstream equipment that no longer needto individually determine whether the item contains encrypted deliverypoint information. In some embodiments, where each piece of itemprocessing equipment is configured to determine that items compriseencrypted delivery point information and is configured to decrypt theencrypted delivery point information, the item may not be flagged. Insome embodiments, decrypting the encrypted delivery point informationmay comprise identifying the encryption key used to encrypt the deliverypoint information and decrypting the encrypted delivery pointinformation using the same key.

In some embodiments, where all delivery point information is encodedusing the same encryption key that is periodically rotated or changed,there may be only once active decryption key for the currently activeencryption key. In some embodiments, a period of time may pass betweenthe time when the delivery point information was encrypted and when theitem enters the distribution system and the corresponding delivery pointinformation is decrypted. However, during these times, the encryptionkey used (when a single key is used for all encryption) may have cycledto a subsequent encryption key. Accordingly, a current decryption keymay not work to decrypt a previous encryption key. As such, in someembodiments, decrypting the encrypted delivery point information maycomprise determining when the delivery point information was initiallyencrypted so as to help identify the appropriate decryption key.

In some embodiments, this same issue may arise in any situations wherethe encryption key cycles or rotates (e.g., regardless of a singleencryption key being used system wide or being user specific, etc.).Accordingly, the identification of the decryption key may furthercomprise the determination of when the encrypted delivery pointinformation was encrypted by looking at a date that may be included inthe encrypted delivery point information, a postmark date, or a datethat may be stored in the information in the storage location associatedwith the item and/or the user. In some embodiments, if the key appearsto have changed since the delivery point information was encrypted(e.g., decrypting the encrypted delivery point information with whatshould be the correct decryption key is not working), then the item maybe returned to the user with an error message or may be kicked out ofautomatic processing by the distribution system 100 and instead requiremanual intervention or processing.

In some embodiments, the decrypted delivery point information (e.g., theIMb™) is temporarily stored in memory while the item processingequipment in association with the particular item is being processed.Once the item is flagged as encrypted and/or the delivery pointinformation is decrypted and/or the item is transferred to manualprocessing, the method 1000 proceeds to block 1010.

At block 1010, the method 1000 determines whether the decrypted deliverypoint information should be printed on the item. This determination maybe made by the item processing equipment 635 or the mobile computingdevice 640. The determination may also be made by the processor 610and/or the encryption/decryption module 620. In some embodiments, wherethe item may be handled by item processing equipment that is incapableof decrypting encrypted delivery point information, the non-encrypteddelivery point information may be applied to the item. In someembodiments, if the non-encrypted delivery point information is appliedto the item, the item may be marked, flagged, or otherwise indicatedthat the item cannot be returned to the user with due to the unencrypteddelivery point information. If the method 1000 determines to print theunencrypted delivery point information on the item, the method 1000proceeds to block 1012. If the method 1000 determines not to print theunencrypted delivery point information, then the method 1000 proceeds toblock 1014.

At block 1012, the method 1000 prints and/or applies the unencrypteddelivery point information on the item. This step may be performed by aprinter or some other delivery point or IMb™ application device. Thisunencrypted delivery point information may comprise another IMb™ havingan unencrypted routing code portion. In some embodiments, theunencrypted delivery point information may comprise the actual streetdelivery point of the recipient. Once the method 1000 completes theprinting and/or application of the unencrypted delivery pointinformation at block 1012, the method 1000 proceeds to block 1014.

At block 1014, the method 1000 parses the unencrypted or decrypted IMb™(either printed on the item or stored in memory). Parsing the IMb™ mayallow the method 1000 to identify the sorting and/or routing needs ofthe item. The parsing of the IMb™ may be performed by the processor 610and/or the item processing equipment 635 or mobile computing device 640itself. Once the IMb™ is parsed at block 1014, the method 1000 proceedsto block 1016, where the item is sorted and routed based on the parsedIMb™, after which the method 1000 ends at block 1018. In someembodiments, the method 1000 may be incorporated or integrated withmethod 400 and/or method 500 regarding receiving and delivering ofitems.

In some embodiments, the shipper described herein may be an individualthat wishes to send an item to a known recipient but where the shipperis not aware of the recipient's most recent physical delivery point.Accordingly, in order to prevent the shipper from having to delaysending the item in order to contact the recipient and obtain therecipient's current physical delivery point, the shipper may use therecipient's name and a digital identifier of the recipient that theshipper knows, which may be different than a delivery point or physicaladdress. The shipper can then request a delivery point or physicaladdress from the distribution system, which the distribution can encryptand associate with a computer readable code. The distribution sends thecomputer readable code to the shipper. Thus, the distribution system mayidentify and provide anonymized information for a single recipient basedon the shipper-provided recipient's name and unique digital identifier.In some embodiments, the distribution system database may be used tostore information regarding a type and/or quantity of items received byeach recipient to whom the distribution system delivers items.

FIG. 11 is a cross-functional flow diagram of a method 1100 ofrequesting and providing encrypted delivery point information for anitem and of processing and delivering the item to a recipient. Themethod 1100 may comprise actions performed by various equipment parties,including a user that requests the encrypted delivery point informationand a distribution system 100 comprising a delivery point informationsystem 1000 (as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2). In some embodiments, the method1100 may be incorporated or integrated with method 400 and/or method 500regarding receiving and delivering of items. The method 1100 starts atblock 1102.

At block 1102, the user submits a request for encrypted delivery pointinformation from the delivery point information system 600, which thedelivery point information system 600 receives at block 1104. In someembodiments, the user request may be received via the commercialinterface 630 and the communication module 625. In some embodiments, theuser request may comprise a name for which the corresponding encrypteddelivery point is requested. In some embodiments, the user request maycomprise a quantity of names and encrypted delivery points which theuser is requesting. Once the user request is sent/received at blocks1102 and 1104, the method 1100 proceeds to block 1106.

At block 1106, the delivery point information system 600 identifies, ina database of the memory 615, the information requested in the userrequest. For example, when the user request comprises a name for whichthe corresponding encrypted delivery point is requested, the deliverypoint information system 600 determines if the database includes thename and the corresponding delivery point. If the database does includethat information, then at block 1108, the processor 610 or the memory615 extracts that information from the database and temporarily storesit. If the user request comprises a quantity of names and encrypteddelivery points being requested, then the processor 610 or the memory615 extracts from the database the requested number of names andcorresponding delivery points for temporary storage. Once the deliverypoint information is identified and extracted, the method 1100 proceedsto block 1108.

At block 1108, the processor 610 or the memory 615 temporarily storesthe delivery point information identified and extracted from thedatabase before the method 1100 proceeds to block 1110. At block 1110,the encryption/decryption module 620 or the processor 610 may encryptthe stored delivery point information. In some embodiments, as describedherein, a type or level of encryption may be selected based on one ormore of the user, the quantity of names and delivery points requested,or a preset encryption level or type, at this block. Once the method1100 encrypts the delivery point information, the method 1100 proceedsto block 1112.

At block 1112, the encrypted delivery point information is provided orsent to the user. In some embodiments, the communication module 625 orthe commercial interface 635 performs the block 1110. In someembodiments, the encrypted delivery point information may be conveyed toa third-party shipper instead of or in addition to the user. In someembodiments, the encrypted delivery point information comprisesencrypted routing codes corresponding to 31-digit strings that formIMbs™. In some embodiments, the encrypted delivery point informationthat is provided or sent also includes delivery codes as generated basedon the delivery point information. In some embodiments, the deliverycodes themselves may also be encrypted or only the delivery codes may beencrypted by the routing codes are not encrypted. In some embodiments,the encrypted delivery point information comprises the IMbs™ themselvesalong with the corresponding delivery codes for each name provided,where either one or both of a portion of the IMb™ and the delivery codeis encrypted. In some embodiments, sending the encrypted delivery pointinformation to the user may comprise sending the encrypted deliverypoint information to a third party. Once the encrypted delivery pointinformation is provided or sent to the user, the method 1100 proceeds toblock 1114.

At block 1114, the user (or third party shipper) prints or applies theencrypted delivery point information on an item to be sent to therecipient. In some embodiments, the user may print or apply theencrypted delivery point information (for example, in IMb™ format) tothe item. In some embodiments, a third party may apply the encrypteddelivery point information to the item. Once the encrypted deliverypoint information is applied to the item, the method 1100 proceeds toblock 1116.

At block 1116, the user enters the item(s) into the distribution system100. In some embodiments, this may comprise the user or third partydepositing the item with an intake facility (e.g., via a carrier ordrop-off at a delivery unit 104). This may also comprise thedistribution system 100 receiving the item at the intake facility andscanning the item for computer readable code (e.g., the virtual orelectronic identifiers or address (e-mail, phone, social media, etc.) orthe IMb™). Once the item is entered into the distribution system 100,the method 1100 proceeds to block 1118.

At block 1118, the encryption/decryption module 620 or the processor 610decrypts the encrypted delivery point information. In some embodiments,this may comprise parsing a decrypted IMb™ or other virtual orelectronic identifier. Block 1118 of the method 1100 may also beperformed by one or more of the memory 615, the item processingequipment 635 and/or the mobile computing device 640. Once the encrypteddelivery point information is decrypted, the method 1100 proceeds toblock 1120. At block 1120, the item processing equipment 735 and/or themobile computing device 740 may be used to sort and route the item. Thesorting and routing results in the item being delivered to the desiredrecipient without disclosing the recipient's physical, unencrypteddelivery point to the user or to any party outside of the distributionsystem 100. Accordingly, the method 1100 ends at block 1118 once theitem is delivered.

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method 1200 of receiving a user request fora particular recipient's delivery point given the particular recipient'sname and at least one unique digital identifier of the recipient and ofproviding anonymous delivery point to a user based on the user request.The method 1200 may be performed by one or more components of theencrypted delivery point information delivery point information system600. The method 1200 starts at block 1202 and proceeds to block 1204.

At block 1204, the commercial interface 630 and/or the communicationmodule 625 may receive a user request for recipient information. In someembodiments, the receipt of the user request may comprise the user beingauthenticated via the authentication module 645. In some embodiments,the processor 610 may be involved with receiving the user request. Insome embodiments, the user request may comprise a request for deliverypoint information corresponding to particular name of a recipient thatis also included in the user request. The user request may also comprisea unique identifier corresponding to a unique digital identifier of therecipient. The unique digital identifier may be used as a check toensure that the user requesting the recipient's delivery point actuallyknows the recipient. Once the user request including the recipient'sname and unique digital identifier are received, the method 1200proceeds to block 1206.

At block 1206, the processor 610 and the memory 615 may query a databasefor the recipient's name and unique digital identifier. In someembodiments, the database may comprise relational informationassociating recipient names with physical delivery points and uniquedigital identifiers, as described herein. Accordingly, querying thedatabase for the recipient's name and corresponding unique digitalidentifier may comprise searching for associations between therecipient's name and the unique digital identifier and then identifyingif there is an associated physical delivery point for that name andunique digital identifier. Once the database is queried, the method 1200proceeds to block 1208.

At block 1208, the processor 610 and/or the memory 615 determineswhether the recipient's information is in the database. Determiningwhether the recipient's information is in the database may comprisedetermining if it is true that the recipient's name and unique digitalidentifier correspond to the same individual. This may be performed bychecking associations within the memory (e.g., the household database).If the recipient's name and the unique digital identifier correspond tothe same individual (e.g., they are associated), then the processor 610and/or the memory 615 determine if there is also address informationassociated with the recipient's name and unique digital identifier.Additionally, or alternatively, determining whether the recipient'sinformation is in the database may comprise determining if it is truethat a delivery point exists in the database that corresponds to theassociated recipient's name and unique digital identifier. If the method1200 determines that both of these determinations are true, then themethod 1200 proceeds to block 1214. If the processor 610 and/or thememory 615 determine that either of these determinations is false, thenthe method 1200 proceeds to block 1210. In some embodiments, the method1200 may be integrated with or amended with the methods 400-460 that mayidentify information that is not stored in the memory or database fromitems that processed by item processing equipment. Accordingly, userrequests may be based on static or dynamic variables, such that thedatabase may be supplemented based on a received request to enablefuture availability of information if not previously available.

At block 1210, one or more of the processor 610, the communicationmodule 625, and the commercial interface 630 indicates to the user thatthe recipient's delivery point information cannot be determined based onthe information in the user's request. In some embodiments, theindication may provide the user with another chance to provide therecipient's name and unique digital identifier for a second query of thedatabase. Once the indication that the recipient's information cannot bedetermined is provided to the user, the method 1200 proceeds to block1212, where the commercial interface 630 and/or the communication module625 requests the user provide the necessary delivery point informationif the user wishes to proceed with the encrypted delivery pointinformation. Once the user provides the delivery point information, themethod 1200 proceeds to block 1214. Though not shown here, if the userfails to provide the delivery point information, the method 1200 mayproceed to block 1218 where the method terminates.

At block 1214, the processor 610 and/or the encryption/decryption module620 may encrypt the delivery point information as identified in thedatabase. In some embodiments, the encryption of the delivery pointinformation may conform to any of the encryption discussion herein(e.g., user specific encryption, global encryption, periodic rotation ofencryption protocols, etc.). In some embodiments, encrypting thedelivery point information may comprise generating encrypted a routingcode of an IMb™ digit string and providing a digital code. In someembodiments, both the routing code of the IMb™ digit string and thedigital code may be encrypted or just the digital code may be encrypted.In some embodiments, encrypting the delivery point information maycomprise generating another type of encrypting computer readable code.Once the encrypted delivery point information is generated, the method1200 may proceed to block 1216.

At block 1216 of the method 1200, the encrypted delivery pointinformation may be provided to the user. The block 1216 may be performedby one or more of the processor 610, the communication module 625, andthe commercial interface 630. In some embodiments, providing theencrypted delivery point information to the user may comprise providingthe user with the encrypted digit or character string corresponding toan associated computer readable code. In some embodiments, this maycomprise the 31-digit string of the IMb™ along with a delivery code. Insome embodiments, the provided encrypted delivery point information maycomprise the barcode or computer readable code itself so that the userdoes not need to generate the computer readable code on their own. Oncethe encrypted delivery point information is provided to the user atblock 1216, the method 1200 terminates at block 1218.

An apparatus for receiving wireless power may perform one or more of thefunctions of method 1200, in accordance with certain aspects describedherein. The apparatus provide delivery point information. The apparatusmay comprise a means for receiving a request for delivery pointinformation from a user, wherein the request includes a recipient nameand at least one unique digital identifier. In certain aspects, themeans for receiving a request for delivery point information from auser, wherein the request includes a recipient name and at least oneunique digital identifier can be implemented by the communication module150, the communication module 625, the commercial interface 630, or themobile computing device 640 (FIGS. 1 and 6). In certain aspects, themeans for receiving a request for delivery point information from auser, wherein the request includes a recipient name and at least oneunique digital identifier can be configured to perform the functions ofblock 1204 (FIG. 12). The apparatus may further comprise means forquerying a database for the recipient name and the at least one uniquedigital identifier to determine whether the database includes thedelivery point information for the recipient. In certain aspects, themeans for querying a database for the recipient name and the at leastone unique digital identifier to determine whether the database includesthe delivery point information for the recipient can be implemented bythe processor 110 or 610 or the memory 115 or 615. In certain aspects,the means for querying a database for the recipient name and the atleast one unique digital identifier to determine whether the databaseincludes the delivery point information for the recipient can beconfigured to perform the functions of block 1206 (FIG. 12). Theapparatus may also comprise means for retrieving the delivery pointinformation associated with the recipient name and the at least oneunique digital identifier. In certain aspects, the means for retrievingthe delivery point information associated with the recipient name andthe at least one unique digital identifier can be implemented by theprocessor 110 or 610 or the memory 115 or 615. In certain aspects, themeans for retrieving the delivery point information associated with therecipient name and the at least one unique digital identifier can beconfigured to perform the functions of block 1214 (FIG. 12). Theapparatus may also comprise means for generating encrypted deliverypoint information based on the retrieved delivery point information andat least one encryption algorithm. In certain aspects, the means forgenerating encrypted delivery point information based on the retrieveddelivery point information and at least one encryption algorithm can beimplemented by the processor 110 or 610 or the encryption/decryptionmodule 620. In certain aspects, the means for generating encrypteddelivery point information based on the retrieved delivery pointinformation and at least one encryption algorithm can be configured toperform the functions of block 1214 (FIG. 12). The apparatus may alsocomprise means for sending the encrypted delivery point information tothe user. In certain aspects, the means for sending the encrypteddelivery point information to the user can be implemented by theprocessor 110 or 610, the communication module 150, the communicationmodule 625, the commercial interface 630, or the mobile computing device640 (FIGS. 1 and 6). In certain aspects, the means for sending theencrypted delivery point information to the user can be configured toperform the functions of block 1216 (FIG. 12).

The foregoing description details certain embodiments of the systems,devices, and methods disclosed herein. It will be appreciated, however,that no matter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the systems,devices, and methods can be practiced in many ways. As is also statedabove, it should be noted that the use of particular terminology whendescribing certain features or aspects of the development should not betaken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to berestricted to including any specific characteristics of the features oraspects of the technology with which that terminology is associated.

The technology is operational with numerous other general purpose orspecial purpose computing system environments or configurations.Examples of well-known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the developmentinclude, but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers,hand-held or laptop devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based systems, programmable consumer electronics, networkPCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers, distributed computingenvironments that include any of the above systems or devices, and thelike.

As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps forprocessing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented insoftware, firmware or hardware and include any type of programmed stepundertaken by components of the system.

A microprocessor may be any conventional general purpose single- ormulti-chip microprocessor. In addition, the microprocessor may be anyconventional special purpose microprocessor such as a digital signalprocessor or a graphics processor. The microprocessor typically hasconventional address lines, conventional data lines, and one or moreconventional control lines.

The system may be used in connection with various operating systems suchas Linux®, UNIX® or Microsoft Windows®.

The system control may be written in any conventional programminglanguage such as and ran under a conventional operating system. Forexample, any industry standard programming languages for which manycommercial compilers can be used to create executable code may be used.The system control may also be written using interpreted languages.

Those of skill will further recognize that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, software stored on a computer readable medium andexecutable by a processor, or combinations of both. To clearlyillustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, variousillustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have beendescribed above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether suchfunctionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon theparticular application and design constraints imposed on the overallsystem. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality invarying ways for each particular application, but such embodimentdecisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from thescope of the present development.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits describedin connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implementedor performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signalprocessor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), afield programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device,discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or anycombination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein.A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in thealternative, the processor may be any conventional processor,controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration.

If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on ortransmitted over as one or more instructions or code on acomputer-readable medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosedherein may be implemented in a processor-executable software modulewhich may reside on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable mediaincludes both computer storage media and communication media includingany medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program from oneplace to another. A storage media may be any available media that may beaccessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, suchcomputer-readable media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or otheroptical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storagedevices, or any other medium that may be used to store desired programcode in the form of instructions or data structures and that may beaccessed by a computer. Also, any connection can be properly termed acomputer-readable medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includescompact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce datamagnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers.Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope ofcomputer-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method oralgorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes andinstructions on a machine readable medium and computer-readable medium,which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

The foregoing description details certain embodiments of the systems,devices, and methods disclosed herein. It will be appreciated, however,that no matter how detailed the foregoing appears in text, the systems,devices, and methods can be practiced in many ways. As is also statedabove, it should be noted that the use of particular terminology whendescribing certain features or aspects of the development should not betaken to imply that the terminology is being re-defined herein to berestricted to including any specific characteristics of the features oraspects of the technology with which that terminology is associated.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and changes may be made without departing from the scopeof the described technology. Such modifications and changes are intendedto fall within the scope of the embodiments. It will also be appreciatedby those of skill in the art that parts included in one embodiment areinterchangeable with other embodiments; one or more parts from adepicted embodiment can be included with other depicted embodiments inany combination. For example, any of the various components describedherein and/or depicted in the Figures may be combined, interchanged orexcluded from other embodiments.

With respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singularterms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from theplural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as isappropriate to the context and/or application. The varioussingular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sakeof clarity.

It will be understood by those within the art that, in general, termsused herein are generally intended as “open” terms (e.g., the term“including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to,” theterm “having” should be interpreted as “having at least,” the term“includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to,”etc.). It will be further understood by those within the art that if aspecific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such anintent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence ofsuch recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid tounderstanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of theintroductory phrases “at least one” and “one or more” to introduce claimrecitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed toimply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinitearticles “a” or “an” limits any particular claim containing suchintroduced claim recitation to embodiments containing only one suchrecitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases“one or more” or “at least one” and indefinite articles such as “a” or“an” (e.g., “a” and/or “an” should typically be interpreted to mean “atleast one” or “one or more”); the same holds true for the use ofdefinite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, evenif a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitlyrecited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitationshould typically be interpreted to mean at least the recited number(e.g., the bare recitation of “two recitations,” without othermodifiers, typically means at least two recitations, or two or morerecitations). Furthermore, in those instances where a conventionanalogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc.” is used, in generalsuch a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the artwould understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at least one ofA, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have Aalone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). In those instances where aconvention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc.” is used, ingeneral such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill inthe art would understand the convention (e.g., “a system having at leastone of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that haveA alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and Ctogether, and/or A, B, and C together, etc.). It will be furtherunderstood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive wordand/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in thedescription, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplatethe possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, orboth terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood toinclude the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”

All references cited herein are incorporated herein by reference intheir entirety. To the extent publications and patents or patentapplications incorporated by reference contradict the disclosurecontained in the specification, the specification is intended tosupersede and/or take precedence over any such contradictory material.

The term “comprising” as used herein is synonymous with “including,”“containing,” or “characterized by,” and is inclusive or open-ended anddoes not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps.

All numbers expressing quantities of ingredients, reaction conditions,and so forth used in the specification and claims are to be understoodas being modified in all instances by the term “about.” Accordingly,unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth inthe specification and attached claims are approximations that may varydepending upon the desired properties sought to be obtained by thepresent development. At the very least, and not as an attempt to limitthe application of the doctrine of equivalents to the scope of theclaims, each numerical parameter should be construed in light of thenumber of significant digits and ordinary rounding approaches.

The above description discloses several methods and materials of thepresent development. This development is susceptible to modifications inthe methods and materials, as well as alterations in the fabricationmethods and equipment. Such modifications will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art from a consideration of this disclosure or practiceof the development disclosed herein. Consequently, it is not intendedthat this development be limited to the specific embodiments disclosedherein, but that it cover all modifications and alternatives comingwithin the true scope and spirit of the development as embodied in theattached claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of distributing an item, the methodcomprising: receiving the item for distribution via a distributionsystem, the item having delivery point information thereon: identifyingwhether the delivery point information on the item corresponds to animproper or nonexistent destination delivery point; determining that thedelivery point information comprises encrypted delivery pointinformation based on the identifying that the delivery point informationof the item corresponds to an improper or nonexistent destinationdelivery point; flagging the item as comprising encrypted delivery pointinformation based on the determination; generating decrypted deliverypoint information by decrypting the encrypted delivery pointinformation; parsing the decrypted delivery point information todetermine sorting and routing instructions; sending sorting and routinginstructions to a sorting apparatus; causing the sorting apparatus toroute and sort the item according to the determined sorting and routinginstructions; wherein the encrypted delivery point information comprisesone of an encrypted intelligent mail barcode or an encrypted 11-digitdelivery code.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determining whether thedelivery point information comprises encrypted delivery pointinformation further comprises identifying an encryption indicator. 3.The method of claim 1, wherein decrypting the encrypted delivery pointinformation comprises selecting a decryption key from a plurality ofdecryption keys based on an indication of an implemented encryption keyin the encrypted delivery point information.